Notice how some things are running short due to “supply chain issues?’ Get ready for the supply chains to freakin’ vanish:
DEF is Diesel Exhaust Fluid, a mixture of urea and water that has been for more than a decade legally mandated to be fitted to large diesel trucks. It is injected into the exhaust to make it less environmentally nasty, which is fine. But if the DEF system on the truck isn’t working, because, say, there’s no DEF, the engine won’t run at all.
GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE: we’re running out of urea. Guess what: we’re reliant upon Chinese exports of the stuff, and they’ve been clamping down. But what’s weirder are all the conspira-lines that can be drawn:
- CF Industries is the overwhelmingly dominant maker of urea in the United States. Urea is the key component of DEF.
- CF Industries’ two largest shareholders are Vanguard and BlackRock.
- Flying J sells almost a third of all the DEF sold to truckers in the country. It obtains 70 percent of that DEF from shipment by Union Pacific railroad.
- Union Pacific has mandated that Flying J reduce its shipments of DEF by 50 percent, or else they would be embargoed, which would effectively bankrupt Flying J.
- Union Pacific’s two largest shareholders are Vanguard and BlackRock.
- BlackRock is the largest shareholder of Vanguard and by contract with BlackRock’s investors, BlackRock proxy votes on their behalf on all matters concerning Vanguard.
Annnnddd…
- The Chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute is Tom Donilon, President Obama’s former National Security Advisor.
- Tom Donilon’s brother, Mike Donilon is a Senior Advisor to Joe Biden.
- Tom Donilon’s wife, Catherine Russell, is the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office.
- Tom Donilon’s daughter, Sarah Donilon, graduated from college in 2019 and now works on the White House National Security Council.
Neat.
Two ways to solve this:
- Get more DEF supplies.
- Hack the sensors so the trucks will run without the DEF.
Number 2 makes all kinds of sense. But the problem here is that if things are so bad – either due to malfeasance on the part of Our Betters, or due to their incompetence – that something vital like DEF is allowed to run out, chances are good that diesel fuel itself will go to a hundred bucks a gallon.
