The Diesel Shortage Hits America || Peter Zeihan

Global geopolitical conflicts and domestic regulatory hurdles are converging to create a prolonged diesel shortage that will impact the entire American economy for at least the next 18 months. Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have forced the world's former leading diesel exporter to become a net importer, while conflict in the Persian Gulf has crippled Saudi Arabian exports and restricted the Strait of Hormuz. Within the United States, the 1920s Jones Act mandates that domestic maritime shipping use expensive, American-crewed vessels, driving transport costs up fivefold and forcing a reliance on diesel-heavy trucking. This infrastructure fragmentation leaves the West and East Coasts vulnerable to astronomical price hikes, as they cannot easily access the surplus fuel produced on the Gulf Coast. Consequently, the most expensive transport system in the world is now facing a supply crisis that will increase the cost of moving every physical good across the country.