by John Keller | Aug 30, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, PriceAdvantage, Retail Fuel Margins
The OPIS report today showed the average retail fuel margin across the US dropped for the third consecutive week, down $0.012 to $0.211 per gallon. The year to date average increased slightly to $0.185 per gallon, while average for the quarter dropped $0.004 to $0.245 per gallon. The six week average was down as well, hitting $0.251 per gallon.
From a fuel price management perspective, we can say that though the retail fuel margins have been on a downward trend heading into Labor Day, it has still been a strong summer and a strong quarter overall.
The average retail fuel margin this week is $0.042 above the equivalent Friday last year.
Last year this week proved to have the the lowest average retail margin of the quarter. From this point on, September 2013 showed a series of weekly increases, finishing the month up $0.113 to $0.282 per gallon. We’ll see if retail fuel margins this year can follow the same pattern and make for a robust Q3.
by John Keller | Aug 30, 2014 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Industry News, PriceAdvantage
The Syracuse Post-Standard newspaper interviewed Kim Bowers, the CEO of CST Brands, which recently acquired the chain of Nice N Easy stores in New York. The full interview can be found here.
Ms. Bowers’ daughter attends Hamilton College and frequented the local Nice N Easy store. Her daughter would often email photos of the store to her mom and tell her how much she liked it.
Ms. Bowers’ said CST Brands was attracted to the change because Nice N Easy had such great community involvement, and outstanding customer support. She said Nice N Easy customers should expect no changes, other than some more product offerings from the CST Brands private label brand “Fresh Choices”. The CEO said that at CST Brands it’s common for the customer to come inside the store because of the relationship they have with the people inside the store.
From a fuel price management perspective, this customer service focus and attention to the community plays into strategies that may not need to provide the lowest fuel prices in town. Customers are willing to by fuel at stores they like – just like the old saying goes “People do business with people who they like to do business with.”
by John Keller | Aug 26, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
According to OPIS, the current retail fuel margin average dipped $0.012 per gallon this week to $0.223. That makes the second consecutive weekly fuel margin decrease, but keeps the year to date average trending upward for the past eight weeks.
The current year to date average stands at $0.184, while the Q3 average dipped to $0.249 and the six week average remained relatively unchanged at $0.262.
The average retail fuel margin currently stands $0.036 per gallon above the comparable week last year.
From a fuel price management perspective, we’re starting to see margins erode as we enter the end of the busy summer travel season, but still remain strong throughout the quarter. Last year the retail fuel margin trended up approximately $0.10 per gallon this equivalent week through the end of September. Let’s hope retail fuel margins will rebound as we enter next month and finish off the quarter strong.
by John Keller | Aug 26, 2014 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management, Industry News
As reported by Convenience Store Decisions, Parker’s was just named one of the fastest growing companies according to Inc. Magazine. This is the third consecutive year Parker’s has made the list. That is an honor shared by companies like Intuit, Zappos, and Pandora.
“This celebrated achievement is a testament to our employees and the trust and confidence that our customers and business partners have placed in us,” said Parker’s CEO Greg Parker. “This phenomenal growth is only possible as the result of a coordinated team effort.”
The PriceAdvantage team is proud to have Parker’s as a customer and business partner, and we look forward to our ongoing success.
by John Keller | Aug 15, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
According to the OPIS report today, the average retail fuel margin across the US dipped below the equivalent date for last year. The average retail fuel margin is now $0.021 below last year, the first time the weekly average is below 2013 since July 4.
The retail fuel margin average now stands at $0.235 per gallon, down $0.041 from last week, compared to $0.256 last year. The year to date average continued its upward trend by rising $0.002 to $0.183 per gallon. The Q3 average was slightly less this week at $0.253 per gallon, while the six week average rose $0.007 to $0.263 per gallon.
Last year, the next three weeks showed a margin drop of seven cents per gallon. We’ll see if this year we can keep margins at current levels and maintain the strong Q2 numbers we’re seeing so far.
by John Keller | Aug 12, 2014 | Customer News, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
The latest financial results from Murphy USA show a decline in both same store fuel volumes and overall retail fuel margins.
For the three months ending June 30, 2014, gallons sold per store per month was down 2.6% compared to the same period last year. The retail fuel margin average decreased from $0.156 per gallon last year to $0.132 per gallon this year.
CEO Andrew Clyde attributed the decreased margins to a difficult environment.
Murphy USA has 1,228 total locations in operation that include 1,035 Murphy USA sites and 193 Murphy Express sites. There are currently 20 new sites under construction.
by John Keller | Aug 11, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Optimization, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
The weekly OPIS report revealed a slight uptick in the average retail fuel margin across the US. The average retail margin increased $0.007 per gallon to tie the second highest retail fuel margin of the year at $0.276 per gallon.
The year to date average inched up for the seventh straight week to $0.181 per gallon. The average margin for this quarter increased to $0.256 the same margin as the six week average. The margin average this week is $0.058 above the equivalent week last year. This marks the fifth consecutive week when the average retail fuel margin this year is higher than last year.
We now have three solid weeks of the summer vacation travel season before Labor Day. If margins can maintain their current levels, this quarter will make for strong retail fuel profits across the c-store industry.
by John Keller | Aug 11, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
Susser announced their financial results for the quarter. Here are the highlights:
- Average gallons per store declined 0.4%. Sam Susser attributed the decline to the acquisition of the Sac-N-Pac chain of stores which have a smaller store size on average.
- After deducting credit card expenses, net fuel margin was $0.128 per gallon, compared $0.127 the prior-year. Sam Susser attributed the downward pressure on fuel volumes and profitability to additional competitor store openings.
It has been a tough quarter from both a volume demand and margin perspective. It will be interesting to see how these results compare to the CST Brands results to be announced August 12.
by John Keller | Aug 1, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
The OPIS report today revealed that the average retail fuel margin dipped $0.023 per gallon this week to $0.269 per gallon. The year to date average continued its gradual upward trend to hit $0.178 while the average for the quarter jumped $0.004 to $0.252 per gallon. The six week average continued its fifth consecutive weekly climb to hit $0.236 per gallon.
The current retail fuel margin average now stands $0.055 above the equivalent day last year. That makes four consecutive weeks that we’re at levels above last year.
So far we are tracking $0.059 per gallon quarter to date above the 2013 quarter to date at this time. Let’s hope this strong quarter can continue.
by John Keller | Jul 29, 2014 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Fuel Software, Industry News
For a while now we’ve been tracking the growth of the Diesel fuel market from the fuel demand perspective and the number of Diesel vehicles on the road.
CSP.net published an excellent article here discussing the opportunity for fuel retailers to take advantage of the growing Diesel market. While the current market share of Diesel vehicles is only about 1% of the U.S. vehicle market, or 3% when expanded to include vans and light-duty trucks, the Diesel Technology Forum reports the number of diesel registrations has increased 30% since 2010.
A big reason for this is that auto manufacturers are turning to Diesel to help them hit their CAFE target of 36.5 mpg for cars in 2016. Diesel provides roughly 30% better fuel mileage than gasoline, and it has a far superior infrastructure and consumer familiarity than electric or hydrogen vehicles.
From the fuel manager perspective, this makes for a compelling case to consider adding Diesel to the product portfolio in markets where it has the best growth opportunity. In areas where the competition isn’t yet carrying Diesel, providing Diesel as a portfolio differentiator may be one way to help bring up overall fuel margins. Have your field managers keep an eye on the vehicle demographics in their regions, both on the road and in the dealerships, to see if Diesel models are becoming more popular. Test the most promising markets and then strike in those areas where the iron is hot. You may find that your fuel volumes are shifting from gasoline to Diesel, with a net result of increased fuel volumes, and fuel margins, overall.
