Future Pipeline Economic Competitiveness

Future Pipeline Commodity Values

The value of commodities transported by pipelines is expected to increase overall when adjusted for recent (2022) spikes in inflation. Drops in value for gasoline (-60%) and fuel oils (-36%), once again, point to the anticipated supply and demand for these commodities — where fossil fuels are expected to decrease in value. This drop comes as residents and businesses shift to more environmentally friendly options, and manufacturing processes produce products more efficiently.

However, based on a value per ton, coal n.e.c. and basic chemicals generate lower economic benefit than gasoline and fuel oils. So, although these cleaner commodities will greatly increase in usage in the next three decades, their overall market value to the pipeline industry will be less significant as fossil fuels once were historically.

With pipelines transporting greater volumes of commodities, more investments into new materials, time-saving maintenance technology and data analytics are expected to define this sector in the coming decades. Thus, the economic competitiveness and benefit of future pipeline — as a freight transportation mode — will arise from it serving as a safer, cleaner, more sustainable, and more reliable transport of gas and liquid products, which our region will continue to require.