ICYMI: Press Coverage Finds New Progress, Reversing Trends on Energy Prices and Supply Chain Challenges

Media coverage has found consumers and businesses experiencing some relief, reversing trends from recent months, following a number of measures President Biden's administration has taken to ease supply chain bottlenecks and Biden's administration has taken to ease supply chain bottlenecks and increase the supply of oil. Heading into the holiday season, gas prices are falling and retailers feel confident their shelves are well-stocked. Experts cited in several national publications believe that consumers can expect further relief extending into 2022.

See below for excerpts from the articles:

New York Times: Sinking natural gas prices are a sign of hope for household winter heating bills.
[Talmon Joseph Smith, 12/7/21]

"After hitting their highest levels since 2014 mere months ago, natural gas prices have tumbled in recent weeks, falling more than 10 percent on Monday alone, a development that could bring much-needed relief to many Americans who had been bracing for high home heating bills this winter."

CNN Business: Finally some relief: Gasoline and natural gas prices are falling
[Matt Egan, 12/7/21]

"After a relentless rise, prices at the pump are heading south. The national average price for a gallon of regular gas fell to a seven-week low of $3.35 a gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA."

"This is going to help consumers considerably," Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho Securities, said referring to the plunge in natural gas futures.

USA Today: Gas prices will fall below $3 per gallon in 2022, government projections say
[Wyatte Grantham-Philips, 12/8/21]

"Across the country, Americans may see lower gas prices at the pump in 2022. On Tuesday, the U.S. Energy and Information Administration projected that retail gasoline prices would average $3.13 per gallon in December before falling to $3.01 per gallon in January."

"The EIA expects prices to continue to drop, forecasting the annual, national average to be $2.88 per gallon in 2022."

Motortrend: The Chips Begin to Fall: General Motors Production Mostly Back to Normal
[12/8/21]

"[T]hings are already looking up for GM as supply has increased enough to put most of their North American production sites back on normal schedules, with some even including overtime hours to help get up to speed. Car buyers will notice the result of the production surge with dealership inventory expected to increase soon.

Wall Street Journal: Supply-Chain Problems Show Signs of Easing
[Stella Yifan Xie, Jon Emont and Alistair MacDonald, 11/21/21]

"In Asia, Covid-related factory closures, energy shortages and port-capacity limits have eased in recent weeks. In the U.S., major retailers say they have imported most of what they need for the holidays. Ocean freight rates have retreated from record levels."

"'Globally speaking, the worst is behind us in terms of the supply-chain problems,' said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics."

Axios: Manufacturing signals supply chain breather
[Hope King, 12/2/21]

"Despite facing nearly two years of supply chain and consumer demand anomalies, manufacturers continued to increase their output for the 18th month in a row … manufacturers also continued to feel optimistic about the future."

Bloomberg: Opinion: The U.S. Supply-Chain Crisis Is Already Easing
[Brooke Sutherland, 11/18/21]

"[E] evidence keeps piling up to suggest that the U.S. is slowly but surely making progress in easing freight congestion and supply shortages. Global average ocean freight rates for a 40-foot container have now declined for eight straight weeks, according to data released Thursday from maritime advisory and research firm Drewry. Spot pricing for the busy Shanghai-to-Los Angeles trade route has bounced around more but is still down about 19% from its September peak. Meanwhile, the number of containers lingering for longer than nine days at the Port of Los Angeles has dropped by about a third since the hub announced a plan in October to start fining ocean carriers for excessive dwell times, Executive Director Gene Seroka said this week."

"U.S. manufacturing output rose in October to the highest level since March 2019, Federal Reserve data showed this week."