Gasoline consumption down .3% for the first half of 2012

  • Gasoline consumption down .3% for the first half of 2012

    The US Energy Information Administration reported that gasoline consumption for the first half of 2012 was down .3% compared to the first half of 2011. The year over year economic growth of 2012 was more than offset by the increased fuel efficiency of the in-use vehicle fleet, as well as higher gasoline prices, according to the US EIA.

    From a fuel price management perspective, that means that across the enterprise, c-store fuel gallons sold are likely to be lower year over year, and that fuel volume targets set at the beginning of the year may need to be adjusted downward.

    It also means that the trend for the past five years is continuing this year, where the overall market for gasoline continues to shrink, and c-stores are battling for pieces of a smaller pie. Only the c-store companies with robust fuel price management software and sophisticated fuel price optimization and analytics capabilities will be successful.

    Comments are closed.