Why US Refineries Have No Backup When One Shuts Down

US refineries running at high utilization have almost no spare capacity, so a single outage can move fuel prices across a whole region. Speaking in an interview on June 6th 2026, Alex Hodes, Director of Energy Market Strategy at StoneX, explained where the US refining system is most exposed and what happens when a plant goes offline. About half of US refining capacity sits on the Gulf Coast across Texas and Louisiana, the stretch most exposed to hurricane season. Refiners there hold some flexibility because they can shift between export and domestic outlets, while Midwest markets tied to a single refinery have no substitute if it stops. When storms force run rates down, refined product exports slow and domestic supply takes a hit at the same time. Watch the original interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkw5oB3ZFx4 Discover Actionable Energy Insights with StoneX Market Intelligence: https://shop.stonex.com/collections/energy?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sxtv_guest_alex_hodes&utm_content=share 0:00 Refineries Run Out of Slack 0:38 When One Refinery Goes Down 1:12 Gulf Coast Hurricane Exposure Like and subscribe for more financial market insights. #CrudeOil #StoneX #AlexHodes