by John Keller | Sep 26, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
The OPIS report today revealed that the average retail fuel margin across the US dipped $0.026 to $0.241 per gallon. That is $0.041 per gallon below the equivalent week last year. However, the retail fuel finished up $0.03 per gallon since the beginning of September.
The third quarter average finished at a strong $0.240 per gallon, compared to $0.169 in Q2 and $0.158 in Q1. In 2013 the average for Q3 was $0.207 per gallon across the US.
From a fuels pricing perspective, a strong quarterly margin paired with a traditionally strong volume quarter means retail fuelers had a profitable quarter. We should look for that in the financial results that come in the next few months.
What can we expect in the remaining part of the year? Looking back to 2013, we saw October finish only $0.006 below the start of the month. But the outlook is for falling prices this year, with some calling for many states to dip below $3.00 per gallon, and traditionally when we see falling prices, we see rising margins. Let’s hope so.
by John Keller | Sep 20, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
According to the latest OPIS report, the average retail fuel margin across the US had the highest weekly jump since January. The average retail fuel margin jumped $0.061 per gallon this week, and now stands at $0.267 per gallon. That is the highest margin average since August 1 this year.
The year to date average increased slightly to $0.188 per gallon, and the Q3 average increased to $0.239 per gallon. The six week average is now $0.223.
The current retail fuel margin is now $0.027 per gallon higher than last year at this time.
With one week remaining in the quarter this year, it’s certain we’ll have the highest quarterly retail fuel average in Q3, compared to Q2 and Q1.
by John Keller | Sep 15, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Fuel Software, PriceAdvantage, Retail Fuel Margins
Brian Milne, Energy Editor for Schneider Electric, contributed another excellent update on Convenience Store Decisions today.
From a fuel price management perspective, the key takeaways are as follows:
- Brent crude oil dropped into the mid $90s bbl, below $100 bbl for the first time in over a year.
- West Texas Intermediate traded at $90.43, the lowest since May 2013.
- Retail fuel prices are likely to drop as much as $0.25 or more over the next 6-8 weeks.
We know that with the summer travelling season behind us, the annual seasonal trend should show us lower volumes from here through the end of the year. If Mr. Milne’s prediction holds true, and retail fuel margins increase as retail fuel prices drop, we’re heading into a season of strong retail fuel margins through Q4. In 2013, retail fuel margins hovered in the $0.188 to $0.191 range throughout the fourth quarter, and we didn’t see such margin increases. Hopefully 2014 will prove to be more profitable.
by John Keller | Sep 12, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
The OPIS report today showed the average retail fuel margin across the US raised $0.011 per gallon this week to hit $0.206 per gallon. That is slightly under the equivalent week last year, when the average retail fuel margin was $0.211 per gallon.
The year to date average stands at $0.185 for the third straight week. The average margin for the quarter dipped $0.003 to $0.237 per gallon. The six week average is $0.224, reflecting a fourth straight weekly drop.
The average for the quarter last year ended at $0.207, so with two weeks remaining, it looks like we’ll beat that margin this year.
by John Keller | Sep 12, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Technology, Fuel Software, Industry News
The Pinnacle Summit 2014 event in Dallas this week provided the perfect venue for Pinnacle customers to learn more about the upcoming multi-faceted PriceAdvantage integration. Response to the integration announcement was overwhelmingly positive.
The Pinnacle integration is scheduled for release in Q4 of this year and includes the following elements:
- Pinnacle Palm POS: PriceAdvantage price changes can be executed at the Palm POS. This is now the sixth POS system that works with PriceAdvantage.
- Pinnacle Palm POS: PriceAdvantage receives periodic volume feeds from the Pinnacle tank monitor web service to allow fuel analysts to see fuel sales in near-realtime and make adjustments to fuel pricing strategies throughout the day; get aggressive with margins to make up lost volumes from the morning so as to regain those volumes during the evening commute; leave prices alone if volumes remain strong despite competitive market moves downward.
- Pinnacle Manager Workstation: PriceAdvantage collects fuel and merchandise sales by store for performance reporting to understand customer profiles and market trends in consumer behavior. These kinds of reports can help understand whether or not, and to what degree, fuel sales impact in-store sales.
The folks at Pinnacle are working closely with the PriceAdvantage team, and the upcoming solution promises to be very powerful.
by John Keller | Sep 5, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
The OPIS report today showed the average retail fuel margin across the US dropped again this week, making it the fourth consecutive decrease, and the fifth in six weeks.
The average retail fuel margin now stands at $0.195 per gallon, down $0.016 per gallon since last week. The year to date average held steady at $0.185, while the Q3 average dropped slightly to $0.240 per gallon. The six week average took a hit as well, decreasing to $0.235 per gallon.
The average retail margin this week still stands $.014 above the equivalent Friday last year. But in 2013, we saw three weeks of margin gains through September, rising a total of $0.111 per gallon. We can only hope we’ll see a similar trend this year.
