by John Keller | Apr 19, 2013 | Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
According to the latest report from OPIS, average retail fuel margins across the US lost $0.034 per gallon this week. Despite the up and down margin gains and losses over the past four weeks, overall US retail fuel margins for 2013 continue to be on the rise.
The year to date average for US retail fuel margins in 2013 are now at $0.172 per gallon, up from $0.168 per gallon for the year, according to last week’s report. The average US retail fuel margin in 2013 is now the highest of the year.
The margin for the week has been over $0.16 per gallon each week since March 1. From a fuel price management perspective, that means retail fuel margins are now at a level where profits can recoup the losses that started the first two months of 2013.
by John Keller | Apr 18, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News
The Pennsylvania state house passed three natural gas tax credit programs, and sent them to the state senate for review. If passed, Pennsylvania will provide financial help for companies to convert approximately 1000 fleet vehicles to natural gas. In addition, the program provides $5m for building 10 natural gas refueling stations in high traffic corridors. The program also provides incentives to purchase heavy duty vehicles that run on natural gas.
It is too early to know for sure if the Pennsylvania state senate will also pass the program, but if it does, Pennsylvania would be one more state acknowledging the importance of natural gas as an alternative fuel. And from a fuel price management standpoint, c-stores in the state like Rutter’s, Royal Farms, and Sheetz would be wise to start planning for a time when natural gas becomes part of their fuels product portfolio so they take advantage of the new opportunity natural gas customers provide.
by John Keller | Apr 16, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Industry News
In anticipation of growth in the emerging liquid natural gas market, TravelCenters of America announced an agreement with Shell where TA will provide LNG truck stations at up to 100 locations along US interstate highways.
These natural gas stations will be specifically for large over the road trucks. Shell will construct at least two natural gas fueling lanes at each location and bear the burden of the cost at each location. Shell will then provide the natural gas at each location. Both Shell and TA will market the natural gas fuel to their customers.
The two companies are hopeful that the first locations may be operational within one year’s time.
From a fuel price management perspective, this is another market indicator that natural gas, specifically LNG for large trucks, may soon be taking away noticeable market share from traditional fuels volumes. According to the US Department of Energy Alternative Fueling Station Indicator, there are approximately 28 public LNG stations in the US currently.
by John Keller | Apr 12, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Optimization, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
According to the latest OPIS report, retail fuels margins across the US had their largest weekly increase in over a month. The average retail margin today stands at $0.268 per gallon, an increase of $0.093 per gallon over last week. The last time margins were at this level was November 9, 2012.
Fuel margins averaged $0.159 per gallon for the entire Q1 of 2013. It is still early in Q2, but fuel margins are off to a good start with an average so far of $0.222 per gallon. For the past six weeks, retail fuel margins have averaged $0.223 per gallon.
This is only the second time this year when the retail fuel margin weekly increase was over $0.09 per gallon.
by John Keller | Apr 12, 2013 | Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
In the NACS State of the Industry Summit, OPIS Chief Oil Analyst Tom Kloza predicted wide and volatile fuel price swings in 2013. Mr. Kloza said smart fuel marketers will be able to take advantage of these cost swings by buying low and selling high.
The PriceAdvantage fuel pricing software solution from Skyline Products can play an important role in aiding with the timing of these buying decisions. The Daily Rack Cost Summary report in PriceAdvantage displays supplier cost provided by OPIS, making it easy for fuel analysts to review different supplier options for a rolling five day period, and compare to what the competition is paying. Not only does this report aid in deciding where to buy from, it also shows the fuel analyst whether he is at a competitive advantage or disadvantage in each of his markets. By consolidating this OPIS information feed into the PriceAdvantage fuel price management solution, fuel analysts can find answers to their critical pricing decisions in one centralized location, and reduce time to conclusion.
The Profit Actual Cost report in PriceAdvantage allows the fuel analyst to quickly see in-ground margins based on past purchases. When taken in conjunction with the replacement cost information presented in the PriceAdvantage fuel pricing screens, the fuel analyst has a complete picture of store performance and margins.
The Margin Analysis views in PriceAdvantage present by market and by store the weighted actual margin, weighted actual cost, and average replacement margin. These views make it easy to slice and dice the information by commodity, market, and date range. Heat maps display relative performance of regions to one another, and stores to each other.
PriceAdvantage provides the complete breadth of information and rich analysis you need to quickly make the most of your fuel buying and fuel pricing opportunities and to optimize the balance between margins and volumes. We can expect the volatility of 2013 to continue for years to come, so savvy fuel analysts will need to decide not if they should embrace the best fuel price management solution, but when.
by John Keller | Apr 11, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News
Kroger announced they will increase their number of electric vehicle charging stations, in partnership with ECOtality, Inc. This expansion project will bring the total number of Kroger EV charging stations to almost 300. Kroger already operates 60 EV charging stations in Oregon and Washington, and 14 EV charging stations in Texas. The announced expansion will bring Kroger EV stations to Phoenix, San Diego and Los Angeles.
The 225 new charging stations include 200 level 2 (quick charge) stations, and 25 DC Fast Chargers. DC Fast Chargers enable customers to charge an electric vehicle battery up to 80 percent capacity in less than 30 minutes. ECOtality has 144 DC Fast Chargers across the US.
This Kroger partnership is one of ECOtality’s largest in terms of single retail company station networks. Earlier this year ECOtality announced an expanded partnership with Sears, where 17 additional charging stations were added.
ECOtality has over 3300 combined public and private charging stations throughout the US, including over 800 in California, 750 in Oregon, and 670 in Tennessee.
The number of gasoline stations stands at 160,000 and thus still dwarfs the total number of EV charging stations. Nonetheless, fuel analysts would be wise to keep a watchful eye on their markets and anticipate when it may make sense to add electricity to their product portfolio. Spinx store #149 at 1619 Decker Blvd in Columbia SC is an example of a c-store that has added an EV charging station to its location.