View Full Version : Coal price set to rise by £3 a bag in the next few weeks?
I know how these rumours can start and spread so I hope I'm noty misguided here; but from what I see about the problems with coal coming from China (apparently the largest producer) it looks like this one might have a bit more than a grain of truth to it.
Not good. That's a serious hike in the cost of living/inflation. Does anyone have any more details about this by any chance please ?
Many thanks :)
Coal Reserves
The UK has proved coal reserves of around 220 million tonnes however total reserves could be well in excess of 1 billion tonnes. Most of this is steam coal, although there are some accessible reserves of coking coal.
http://www.worldcoal.org/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=404
Looks like we still have a few bags of our own....
Looks like we still have a few bags of our own....
that's kind of what I always thought. Thanks for the link.
All the same, Bruce Lindsay Coal apparently have a complete monopoly on coal supply to the Highlands and I have been what I believe to be reliably informed that they are putting the price up by £3 a bag within a couple of weeks. Apparently there has a been local advert in the paper (which one I don't know as I've never bought newspapers regularly) advising this too.
Obviously if it's true then this is the sort of thing which is going to have less impact on those who don't use coal heating, but it will still put up the price of electricity generation if it becomes a popular move.
Clearly the best thing for me to do is go straight to the horses mouth (and stockpile coal if I must) when the coal merchant opens tomorrow.
As a by the by, I have a friend with a young family who generally gets through 2 bags of coal per week because it's his sole source of water heating. That's an extra £24 a month to find which is a lot of money for some people to need to drum up as a result of a bit of greed.
I do wonder about private companies being allowed to get a complete stranglehold on communities totally without any regulation - apparently on something as basic as heat, in a place as famously chilly as Caithness+ Sutherland.
I hope it's not true.
here in Isle of lewis price is now £14 a bag - did go up to £15 but folk did not buy so they dropped it by £1 to £14 - folk out cutting peats again has also spurred them to reduce prices but for how long.
We will all have to go out and start digging for our warmth this winter - can we afford to heat our homes - or will it be back to when I was young - frost on the inside of the windows when you went to bed and thicker frost when you had to get up to go to school.
Once you were in bed you did not put an arm or leg out of the covers or if it was soo cold even the nose did not appear above the blankets until it was time to rise for school, then it was rush to the kitchen with your clothes for a quick wash and dressed in front of the kitchen fire, folowed by porridge and a warming cup of tea to set you up for the trek to school.
Makes me realise how mollycoddled we are now with out central heating, electric blankets etc.
Just checked with my local supplier and the stuff I get (Surefire - nuggets) is going up by £1.50 a bag on the 1st of June. Get your bunker filled now I guess.
Bill Fernie
27-May-08, 13:24
that's kind of what I always thought. Thanks for the link.
All the same, Bruce Lindsay Coal apparently have a complete monopoly on coal supply to the Highlands and I have been what I believe to be reliably informed that they are putting the price up by £3 a bag within a couple of weeks. Apparently there has a been local advert in the paper (which one I don't know as I've never bought newspapers regularly) advising this too.
Obviously if it's true then this is the sort of thing which is going to have less impact on those who don't use coal heating, but it will still put up the price of electricity generation if it becomes a popular move.
Clearly the best thing for me to do is go straight to the horses mouth (and stockpile coal if I must) when the coal merchant opens tomorrow.
As a by the by, I have a friend with a young family who generally gets through 2 bags of coal per week because it's his sole source of water heating. That's an extra £24 a month to find which is a lot of money for some people to need to drum up as a result of a bit of greed.
I do wonder about private companies being allowed to get a complete stranglehold on communities totally without any regulation - apparently on something as basic as heat, in a place as famously chilly as Caithness+ Sutherland.
I hope it's not true.
It has been pointed out to me that Bruce Lindsay are not the only suppliers of coal in the Highlands. There are at least two other suppliers.
Coal is going up by about £1.50 a bag mainly due to the greatly increased of diesel for haulage costs. Bruce Lindsay contacted customers to let them know of the imminent increases incase they wanted to order more at the lower price.
Thanks Bill. Yes I phoned the merchant in Thurso that I used to buy from back when I stayed in Sutherland but he said that it all comes from the same place so the price is going to be the same (i.e. theirs goes up on Monday to the same price too).:(
I still think it's a heck of hike in price and something that is going to hurt the most for those families that already have too little stretched too far.
I suppose that those who are dependent upon bottled LPG and heating oil are going to be seeing some similar prices rises too if the reason for the price rise and the excuse for the size of the price rise are one and the same. Basically, I wonder how much is 'mark up'.
A black letter day for Inflation.
connieb19
27-May-08, 20:45
Bruce Lindsay contacted customers to let them know of the imminent increases incase they wanted to order more at the lower price.I've never been notified by them that the coal is going up in price. If I had known this I would have stocked up sooner. :mad:
I've never been notified by them that the coal is going up in price. If I had known this I would have stocked up sooner. :mad:
It was put in the Caithness Courier and the John O Groat journal informing customers of the price increase as well as the delivery drivers letting all of their customers know about the price increase but it is not to late to get your coal at the pre increase price if you phone with your order.
connieb19
27-May-08, 21:20
It was put in the Caithness Courier and the John O Groat journal informing customers of the price increase as well as the delivery drivers letting all of their customers know about the price increase but it is not to late to get your coal at the pre increase price if you phone with your order.
I dont buy the local papers very often and the delivery driver certainly never told me about the price increase.
I dont buy the local papers very often and the delivery driver certainly never told me about the price increase.
Well now you know about the price increase so you can fill up your bunker before it goes up
All very well if you can afford to fill your bunker. :(
If the rise is as big as it sounds I'll have to start stocking up with wood for the winter and lower my coal order.
Yes, the more I think about it the more I think that if I cannot talk in terms of a monopoly up here (although I would be interested to see 'who owns whom' amongst the Highlands & Islands coal merchants business as I suspect there may be one or two surprises) then I can think in terms of a cartel in some form, be it peer pressure, tacit agreement or bullying.
I must have pondered overnight on this. I wondered this morning:
Sacks of coal are sold in 50kg bags. That means 200 bags per metric tonne, right ?
- Ok how much has the supplied coal gone up per tonne ?
- How much is the increase in fuel to deliver it ?
- That leaves a decrease in profit of how much per tonne ?
- Over the cost of a tonne how much does a bag need to go up to cover the decrease in profit ?
How much of this increase is pure profit ?
.
That means 200 bags per metric tonne, right ?
20 bags in a tonne.
Back to cutting peats then.
That means 200 bags per metric tonne, right ?
20 bags in a tonne.
Back to cutting peats then.
Thanks Iain, I realised too late to correct it, but yep, off to the peat bogs again.
Also I believe that if you have a suitable vehicle and live near to one of the wooded areas then you can buy wood scavaging rights for around £30 for 3 months' rights which should be plenty enough time to stockpile a good few months worth of wood.
Unfortunately for those who do not have peat or wood access or suitable transport this excursion in prices will be a bitter pill and a chill winter ahead.
Fortunately they'll have no excuse to raise the prices again in the winter. :rolleyes:
Yes, the more I think about it the more I think that if I cannot talk in terms of a monopoly up here (although I would be interested to see 'who owns whom' amongst the Highlands & Islands coal merchants business as I suspect there may be one or two surprises) then I can think in terms of a cartel in some form, be it peer pressure, tacit agreement or bullying.
I must have pondered overnight on this. I wondered this morning:
Sacks of coal are sold in 50kg bags. That means 200 bags per metric tonne, right ?
- Ok how much has the supplied coal gone up per tonne ?
- How much is the increase in fuel to deliver it ?
- That leaves a decrease in profit of how much per tonne ?
- Over the cost of a tonne how much does a bag need to go up to cover the decrease in profit ?
How much of this increase is pure profit ?
.
Why do you not just ask your supplier who his Company belongs to and about there Pricing Policy.
As one of the Main Supplier in Caithness Bruce Lindsay Coal T/a Mcewens are very helpful in letting there Customers Know about Price increases as the Drivers have let there Customer Know and an Advert was in the local Press.
A search on the Internet will soon tell you who has what .
Mcewens did buy Summerbank Coal a few years ago but the other person who sold Coal in The Keiss area could be said to be little more than a modern day Highway Bandit his company did not last very long.
Why do you not just ask your supplier who his Company belongs to and about there Pricing Policy.
As one of the Main Supplier in Caithness Bruce Lindsay Coal T/a Mcewens are very helpful in letting there Customers Know about Price increases as the Drivers have let there Customer Know and an Advert was in the local Press.
A search on the Internet will soon tell you who has what .
Mcewens did buy Summerbank Coal a few years ago but the other person who sold Coal in The Keiss area could be said to be little more than a modern day Highway Bandit his company did not last very long.
I'm guessing that you have connections with Bruce Lindsay Coal from the sounds of your posting. I can only find two coal merchants serving the KW1 and KW14 areas.
Obviously Keiss is a small place so I know the highway bandit you're talking about, and he tells the story rather differently. He was sober at the time :)
If you have a bit more info to pass on about the pricing policy then now is good time and here is a great place to spill the beans.
You'll understand that it's a pretty big hike in price and it's money that's coming out of our pockets for something we have no choice about whether we need or not so no-one who is shelling out for this stuff is going to be remotely pleased about it.
It seems to be an excessive price rise to me. If you feel differently perhaps you can explain why it isn't excessive. I'm not just being argumentative, I really would like to know.
I'm guessing that you have connections with Bruce Lindsay Coal from the sounds of your posting. I can only find two coal merchants serving the KW1 and KW14 areas.
Obviously Keiss is a small place so I know the highway bandit you're talking about, and he tells the story rather differently. He was sober at the time :)
If you have a bit more info to pass on about the pricing policy then now is good time and here is a great place to spill the beans.
You'll understand that it's a pretty big hike in price and it's money that's coming out of our pockets for something we have no choice about whether we need or not so no-one who is shelling out for this stuff is going to be remotely pleased about it.
It seems to be an excessive price rise to me. If you feel differently perhaps you can explain why it isn't excessive. I'm not just being argumentative, I really would like to know.
Firstly i have no connections with ANY COAL MERCHANT ELM123.
All goods are going up in Price just now reguardless of what you buy as the cost of Diesel is going up and up and it is just being passed on to the end user you and i,.
Where has anyone but you said the Price of coal is going up by £3 per bag where is your source for such info?
I can find 4 coal merchants that you can get from in Keiss.
To save money buy in Bulk if you can.
Firstly i have no connections with ANY COAL MERCHANT ELM123.
fine.
All goods are going up in Price just now reguardless of what you buy as the cost of Diesel is going up and up and it is just being passed on to the end user you and i,.
I have my eyes open! The price of petrol & diesel is getting silly. Absolutely I understand it is going to have a knock-on effect on the cost of probably about 80% of what we buy. :(
Where has anyone but you said the Price of coal is going up by £3 per bag where is your source for such info?
I was told this, third hand. If you read my original post you'll see that I thought it was hard to believe and I was asking if it was true.
It was a question, not a statement.
I can find 4 coal merchants that you can get from in Keiss.
To save money buy in Bulk if you can.I'll look harder - thanks for the tip. I'll take to heart your recommendation about bulk buying as well as I'm sure it makes a lot of sense.
Bill Fernie
28-May-08, 23:44
Sorry to add to the gloom if anyone was thinking of switching from coal to gas but the story on the Herald web site says gas prices may get yet another big rise soon. See http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2303818.0.Household_gas_bills_heading_ for_another_big_leap_in_price.php
How much of this increase is pure profit ?
.
Take into account that EVERYONE is complaining about costs of gas/electricity/coal .............. businesses are on a dearer rate for their electricity/gas so are bound to be getting hit harder than a household. As the coal companies rely almost solely on delivering the goods (and I assume to rural areas in the main) then fuel costs are bound to be astronomical.
As someone that is involved with buying goods for a company, I have expected price increases from all our suppliers - unfortunately, its inevitable and these have to be passed on to customers in order to stay open. We had been buying in an item for £10 only for it to jump to £16 overnight.
Yesterday I placed an order based on our current cost prices, but had to sign to confirm I accepted the price increases since our last order - some small changes, some astronomical ones. Also, we got a letter in from another supplier saying that all prices are to increase in September.
We might not like all these price increases, but we can't avoid them :(
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