by John Keller | Aug 9, 2012 | Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
Delek US Holdings reports retail fuel margins of $0.182 for Q2.
In their Q2 report for 2012, Delek US Holdings reported retail fuel margins of $0.182 per gallon, compared to $0.186 per gallon in 2011. For the first six months of 2012, retail fuel margins stand at $0.153 per gallon compared to $0.157 per gallon in 2011.
Retail fuel volumes per store for the quarter were up roughly 7% from 86,505 gallons to 92,662 gallons. Average retail fuel gallons per store for the period was 278,000 gallons, up from 260,000 gallons for the same period last year. That equates to approximately 92,660 gallons per store per month for the quarter across their 372 stores.
Delek US Holdings operates 372 MAPCO Express c-stores throughout the southeastern United States.
From a fuel price optimization strategy perspective, it’s interesting to compare these results with the results from The Pantry. Both chains operate c-stores in overlapping states, one can assume with similar market pressures. Yet The Pantry shows struggling results with decreased retail fuel margins and gallons sold, while Delek US Holdings shows retail fuel margins holding steady with increased fuel volumes.
by John Keller | Aug 2, 2012 | Fuel Pricing Strategy, Industry News
In the Harvard report “Oil: The Next Revolution, The unprecedented upsurge of oil production capacity and what it means for the world”, Leonardo Maugeri predicts a change in the balance of power and and a long-term lower oil prices for the remainder of the decade. From a fuel price management perspective, this is a fascinating picture of where we are today and where we are likely to be in the coming decades.
Mr. Maugeri outlines a range of different scenarios with varying economic possibilities ranging from a new world-wide economic recession, a sudden solution to major political tensions, a collapse of the China economy, and a sudden recovery of the world economy. Mr. Maugeri writes “I have no particular preference for any of these scenarios…although I think the probability of a significant fall in oil prices is higher than all other scenarios.”
The paper asserts that its most important messages are these:
- Oil is not in short supply
- The oil market is global and none of its pieces/countries can be insulated from the other
- The shale boom in the US is the most important revolution in the oil sector in decades
- Conventional oil production is growing throughout the world
- The oil market will continue to remain volatile through 2015
- The Western Hemisphere could return to pre-World War II status of self-sufficiency
by John Keller | Jul 3, 2012 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News
According to NACS, there have been accusations of fuel price gouging in the aftermath of last week’s storms and the declaration that West Virginia is in a state of emergency.
According to West Virginia Assistant Attorney General Douglas Davis, state law says “you take the date of the emergency declaration, go back 10 days, and whatever the price was then, you can raise it 10% before we get interested.”
In Virginia, price-gouging laws are in effect through July 30, after the Governor declared a state of emergency June 29. The law in Virginia states that businesses can be charged with price gouging if they charge a price that is “unconscionable” when compared to the average price of the same product during the emergency declaration. The term “unconscionable” is not defined.
In times of these accusations, Fuel Price Management software solutions such as PriceAdvantage can shorten a fuels price audit from days needed to track down stacks of spreadsheets, to a few minutes needed to run a built-in fuel pricing history report.
by John Keller | Jul 2, 2012 | Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
In today’s Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, the US EIA reported regular unleaded fuel prices across the US dropped for the 13th consecutive week, this time by $0.081 per gallon to $3.356. Fuel prices haven’t been this low since before January 9, 2012. Unleaded regular fuel prices are now $0.223 per gallon lower than one year ago.
The Midwest and West Coast regions both saw a weekly drop of $0.108 per gallon, the biggest decrease of all the regions in the US. In the West Coast region, the average regular unleaded fuel price is now $0.47 per gallon less than one month ago.
Regular unleaded fuel price averages are lower than last year in every region except in the Rocky Mountain region, where fuel prices are $0.064 per gallon higher than last year.
Diesel prices dropped $0.03 per gallon, which is $0.202 per gallon lower than this time last year.
by John Keller | Jun 28, 2012 | Industry News
According to an industry analyst, oil prices and gasoline fuel prices will remain near current levels throughout the driving season this summer.
Earl Sweet is a Managing Director and Senior Economist at BMO Capital Markets, a financial investment firm. His 2012 summer fuel price prediction is based on the state of international economics, namely the European debt and banking crisis. Mr. Sweet believes these economic conditions outweigh the supply risks that have driven fuel prices down in recent months.
From a fuel price management perspective, we may see margins start to erode as markets are content with lower profits as time passes and they make up for a weak early part of the year.
by John Keller | Jun 27, 2012 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News
The national motorist association AAA is predicting the highest number of travelers for the Fourth of July holiday in the past 10 years, thanks in part to falling gasoline fuel prices. In some states, AAA is seeing gas prices drop a penny a day. The average price in South Carolina is already at $2.98 per gallon, with Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama averaging just over $3 per gallon. AAA sees fuel price drops accelerating, and predicts several of these states may soon join South Carolina under the $3 per gallon level.
AAA predicts 42.3 million travelers on the road for the Fourth of July holiday. That is nearly 5% more than last year. Besides falling gasoline fuel prices, having the holiday on a Wednesday provides a substantial boost because of the weekend on either end.
From a fuel price management perspective, expect higher fuel volumes for this holiday over last year.