In their Q3 results, TravelCenters of America announced retail fuel margins of $.155 for the quarter and $.151 for the 9 month period. For the same periods in 2010 TA retail fuel margins were $.150 and $.136.
Total fuel sales volumes were up 1.8% from 2010 for the quarter and 0.9% for the same 9 months in 2010. The number of company operated stores is at 184, unchanged from 2010.
Retail fuels prices are expected to decline through the rest of 2011, according to today’s Short-Term Energy Outlook report from the US Energy Information Administration.
So far this year, regular unleaded monthly average gas prices have dropped $.46/gallon from their highest point in 2011 back in May, when the average fuel price for that month was $3.91 per gallon. The US monthly average fuel price for regular unleaded in October was $3.45 per gallon.
If the US EIA prediction proves to be true, from a fuels price management perspective these last 7 months of the year offer opportunities for fuel price optimization that will increase fuel margins and increased fuels profitability.
The announcement today from Alon Brands Inc. saying they will end the 51-year-old FINA fuel brand and replace it with the brand ALON is a case in point of just how dynamic the retail fuel pricing market is. From a fuel price management and fuel pricing strategy perspective, fuel analysts will need to carefully monitor the market reaction to this fuel branding transition.
Fuel Price Management software like PriceAdvantage is critical for allowing fuel pricing analysts to navigate their way through this transition, by monitoring the daily fuel volumes imported from PDI, tracking the competitor pricing strategies in each market from store surveys and OPIS, and adjusting fuel pricing strategies to maintain optimized prices at every store.
In their Q3 results, ALON USA announced retail fuel margins of $.159 for the quarter and $.167 for the 9 month period.
Average fuel sales per month per store hit 45,000 gallons for the quarter, an increase of 12.5% over the same period last year. ALON USA managed 303 stores throughout the quarter.
The US EIA today reported a third straight week of dropping retail fuel prices. Average fuel prices across the US dropped $.03 across the board for Regular, Midgrade and Premium this week. There were fuel price drops across every US EIA region, with the biggest price drop in the Midwest at $.05 this week. The US EIA report on a state basis showed only California had a price increase for Regular, with a $.01 rise to $3.85 this week.
The US average price for Regular has dropped $.05 per gallon from $3.47 on 10/17/11 to $3.42 today.