This is the first article in a multi-part series by geosynthetica.net as we explore the impact of rising fuel costs on the geosynthetics market place.
"The national average price for a gallon of diesel surged 34.6 cents to $3.144, which humbles the old record set on Sept. 5 just after Katrina struck by a lofty 24.6 cents.” 1
Diesel fuel costs are increasing at an unprecedented level and although extenuating circumstances are to blame, it is true that most experts are not expecting a significant reversal when production and distribution of petroleum based products normalizes.
What does this mean to contractors, city governments, and others involved in large scale construction? It should be more and more appealing to use materials which require less fuel consumption in terms of delivery and installation. Aggregate, clay, soil, sand, and other traditional construction materials have always required more transportation and more on-site vehicle use for installation than their geosynthetic counterparts. With the rapid rise in diesel costs, the economy of this disparity is becoming more impactful.
It could be said, for a particular job, that one truck load of geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) could do the job of twenty truck loads of clay. How does this affect the economy of geosynthetics? There are a variety of advantages to using GCL over and above this cost, but in reality, many specifications are not written exclusively based on technical merit. When there is increased economic benefit to a design/specification, that specification may well get more consideration from certain audiences.
It is true that resin prices are simultaneously rising and that resin is a primary component in geosynthetics. However, we are working to compare and extrapolate how these numbers line-up in reality. We feel it is most likely that the economy of geosynthetics will come out significantly ahead.
Check back with geosynthetica.net to see what our current research will tell!
1 http://fleetowner.com/katrina/katrina_rita_hurricane_diesel_price_record_100405/
HURRICANE IMPACT: Rita spurs record diesel prices
by Terrence Nguyen, web editor
Oct 4, 2005 12:17 PM
