For example, the United States Steel Corporation faces a big challenge due to the falling oil prices, which dropped by more than 50% from the mid-2014. The company plans to lay off about 750 of its workers since the company cannot sustain them due to the falling demand for their steel tubes. The tubes are used by drilling companies, who are the major consumers of its products. The company is machining losses due to the reduced sales of its products, as the oil drilling companies are not willing to supply oil at the current prices. The biggest challenge for the company is paying workers and repaying bank loans advanced to it earlier. The volume of production has reduced since the oil prices dropped, and the management cannot pay many of its bills such as the power bills as it used before. If oil prices do not go up the company will suffer more losses as no orders for its steel products are forthcoming. Although the US consumers for the oil products are benefiting from the oil price decline, some sector industries are crying. The benefactors of the low prices are in the manufacturing sector where energy costs are very low. The manufacturing industries are benefiting from low oil prices since they are making huge profits as pointed out by the president of Ohio Manufacturers Association in Columbus. According to the president, Eric Burkland, the state’s auto manufacturing industry forecasts sales of over 17 million. The sales volume is the largest for the company as it will lower its market prices for its products due to low energy costs. The other benefactors of the low oil prices are chemical and pharmaceutical producers. Low production costs due to payment of lower bills compared to what the companies were paying earlier are a blessing for these companies.

A company benefiting from the low oil prices is the Good Year Tire and Rubber Manufacturing Company in Ohio USA. The company produces of tires for all types of automobiles and is one of the largest companies in the world. The other products of the company are rubber products such conveyor belts, synthetic rubber for medical applications, and hydraulic products among others. The decrease in the oil price since 2014 is a great joy to the company management as it has reduced the manufacturing costs by far. The main low material for manufacturing tires and rubber are the petroleum products implying that a decline in the oil prices leads to low cost of the raw materials from the industry. When the company buys the raw materials at a lower price, it can offer the finished products at a cheaper price increasing its sales. The company is therefore making huge profits because of its huge sales in the international market. The cost of production for the company is also very low since the power bills have decreased due to low energy costs. Power for running its machines is mostly from fossil fuels meaning that low oil costs translate to low power bills. The company is selling its products at lower prices than before, which leads to more sales and huge profits. The company’s CEO, Richard Kramer, attributes the good business to the falling oil prices reducing their production costs.

An example of a food processing company that benefited from the fall in the oil prices is the Kellog’s Multinational Company based in the United States ofAmerica. The company produces a number of food products such cereals, crackers, toaster pastries, and cookies. The company markets its brands in many countries including African countries and has a large market share. The low oil prices have benefited the company in many ways. First its low materials that are farm produce decreased in their prices due to low production cost by farmers. When farmers bought farm machinery and inputs such as fertilizers at lower costs from manufacturers, their cost of production lowered. The farmers could sell their prices at lower prices to food processors such as Kellog’s Company. Kellogg’s Company benefitted indirectly from the declining oil prices. The benefit from the low oil prices is the low cost of production in terms of power bills for running the machines. The company management is optimistic they will make huge profits resulting from the purchase of low oil products. Another benefit that the company enjoys is the low transportation costs for its processed products to its customers. The low pump prices are saving on the transportation costs as fuel for running vehicles has greatly reduced.

One of the major beneficially of cheap oil product is the automobile manufacturers such as Toyota Motor Corporation located in Toyota, Japan. The company is one of the biggest automobile manufacturers in the world and a major supplier of vehicles to several countries. The decline in the oil prices has favored the company because of the huge sales in the car market. Due to low pump prices, many people are buying vehicles since they can afford to fuel as compared to when the prices were high. The management has reported high sales since the price of oil dropped leading to high-profit margins. Toyota vehicles are a preference of many especially in the developing countries where many people prefer private to public transport. The other factor contributing to high-profit margins to the company is the low cost of production as the company pays low power bills compared to before. The cost of tires, bumpers, and other vehicle parts has also greatly reduced making the company realize more profits due to the low cost of raw materials such as rubber. If the prices remain low for the next six months, the company will increase its car sales by over 30% as predicted by the management.

Medtronic PLC is a medical company based in Minnesota and one of the largest companies that manufacture medical devices. The company relies heavily on petroleum products for manufacturing of medical equipment such as heart valves, surgical gloves, and many others. The company is one f the major suppliers of products used in the hospitals for diagnosis and treatment especially in surgery. Oil prices affect t operations of the company in many processes of production. First, some of the devices the company manufactures such heart valves, and artificial limbs require petroleum products as a raw material. The decrease in the oil prices decreased the cost of production leading to high sales and profits. According to the company’s CEO Omar Ishrak, the company’s sales went up in the second half year of 2014 due to reduced prices for their products. As a result, the company made high profits compared to the same period in 2013. The other factor that favored the company’s operations is the reduced production costs due to the low power charges for running the machines. The company has increased its volume of production to cater for its market and make the medical devices available to the hospitals. The cost of transporting the medical supplies also went down as the pump prices reduced. The company’s expenses lowered making it realize higher profits than before. Whenever the oil prices go up, the company experiences hard economic times due to the increased expenses and high cost of raw materials.

EVCO Plastics Company depends on petroleum products for its raw materials in the production of various plastics. The company located in USA, Mexico, and China is a large manufacturer of plastics used in various sectors such as engineering, and the technology sector as plastics have many uses in various gadgets. Oil prices have an impact on the plastic manufacturing companies in either increasing or lowering their production costs. An increase in the oil prices leads to high costs of raw materials and power costs lowering the company’s profits. A decrease in the oil prices lowers the production costs leading to high profits for the company. Since the decline in the oil market prices in 2014, the companies sales have increased as it can sell its products cheaply compared to before. The cost of the petroleum products, which is a carbon-based polymer depends on the cost of fossil oil. The decrease in the oil price means a decrease in the price of the raw material for the plastic manufacturing company and high profits. According to the management, the company is doing quite well in supplying its market with affordable goods.

Auto-Transportes Banderilla a bus company operating in Mexico is a successful company with many buses for providing human transport. The company relies heavily on oil products for fuel throughout the year. Any change in the prices of oil affects its operations by either raising or lowering the transportation charges. The low oil prices contributed to the decrease of petrol, diesel, and gasoline making the cost of transportation cheaper. Many people can now use the public transport rather than walk to work as compared to the time when the pump prices were high. The company is getting high profits from the increased number of commuters who prefer using its services as the prices are low. Travelling is no longer a challenge to commuters as they can now board the buses and pay a smaller amount of money as compared to what they were paying before the oil price decline.

Taiwan Manufacturers are a company in China dealing with household manufactured goods, such as kitchenware, tableware, and many others. The company sells its wares in the whole world and relies heavily on petroleum products in both production and marketing. First the company uses oil products for running the machine, cooling, and transportation to the market centers. The rise in the oil prices increases the cost of production for the company while a drop in the oil price lower production and transportations cost. The drop in the price of oil since last year has favored the company’s business activities by lowering the overall production costs. The company reported huge profits in the late 2014 due to the low cost of production and high sales. According to the management, the cost of producing household items reduced drastically and their sales increased as they lowered the prices for their wares. Transportation costs also went down as the cost of fuel lowered. The company predicts a growth, as long as oil prices do not surge and make production more expensive.

CF Industries is a company that manufactures nitrogen fertilizers located in Chicago, and with several other branches in the US and Canada. The company’s fertilizer is marketed worldwide and relies heavily on oil products for running and cooling of its machines. A rise or fall in the oil prices affects the performance of the company. A rise increases its production costs lowering its profits. A decline in the oil prices, such as in 2014, lowers its production costs by reducing power bills. The company can sell its products cheaply increasing its sales and marginal profits. The low oil prices also decreased the transportation costs for the raw materials to the factory and finished products to the market. The low costs reduced the company’s expenses leading to high profits. According to the management, the company is doing quite well with fuel costs reducing by over 50% and making the company’s operations very smooth.

Other areas that can be affected by oil prices are ones using diesel or gasoline generators especially institutions without power connectivity. Other institutions use generators as a backup during power blackouts such as hospitals and schools. A rise in the cost of fossil fuels leads to high cost of running generators and vice versa. Schools and colleges that have standby generators charge a fee to the students to cater for its fueling. The extra amount charged increases the cost of education for students especially those from poor backgrounds. When the oil prices reduce, the cost of purchasing fuel for running the generator goes up, and the consumers have to pay for the extra costs. Since the oil price decline in 2014, the cost of running generators has reduced drastically, and the users can save on the amount used for fueling. Other gadgets affected by oil prices are machines such as the power saws used for cutting trees and timber production. Investors who wish to invest in timber business have the advantage of reaping huge profits from timber business, as they will spend less amount of money on buying fuel. The other area, where oil products are necessary is in the kitchen. Many people rely on petroleum gas for cooking while others use paraffin. When oil prices are high, cooking becomes expensive to the low-income earners who have to decide between buying food and the fuel for cooking. When the prices of oil are low, the consumers benefit from the low prices for cooking fuels making their lives easier. Sometimes businesspersons may not lower the prices of fuel even when the oil price lowers thereby exploiting the consumers. However when the price goes up, the business people raise their prices very fast, something that affect the buying power of consumers. Governments should control the prices of petroleum products in their countries to avoid exploitation of the low-income earners.

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