When creameries and other businesses that process milk are slowed or closed due to power outages, trucks carrying milk from the farmers get backed up, forcing farmers to dispose of the highly perishable product. The Land O' Lakes processing plant in Tulare has dumped 450,000 pounds so far. Developments over the past week highlight the depth of the crisis. This stopgap measure will last no more than a week at current wholesale prices. Shortages of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel are possible as power interruptions shut down pipelines.
Inventories are low, leading industry officials to predict even higher prices at the pump.
Airline companies have expressed worries that fuel shortages could lead to major schedule disruptions. The normal six-day reserve of jet fuel at the San Francisco International Airport was down to just two days on January 18, Ron Wilson, a spokesman for the airport said. The next day a third supplier followed suit, forcing the utility to draw heavily on its reserve fields at a rate that could deplete it within weeks. Bernie Senter is a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 120.