Today Murphy Oil announced in their quarterly financial results that for the quarter ending December 31, 2011, retail fuel margins were $.130 per gallon. That’s up from $.074 for the previous year’s results for the same period.
For the year ending December 31, 2011, retail fuel margins were at $.156 per gallon, compared to $.114 for the previous year.
Texas A&M professor of economics and fuel analyst of 30 years John Moroney says fuel prices may or may not hit $4/gallon this summer, and are unlikely to hit $5. “Could gas go to $4? It is possible, but not a certainty. Could it go to $5? I just don’t see it happening.”
Professor Moroney said that in order for fuel prices to reach $5/gallon, oil prices would need to be in the range of $140-$150 a barrel. And with oil production on the rise, including findings of huge oil reserves in recent years, and the increase of shale production, Professor Moroney doesn’t see that happening.
You may find the original interview at theeagle.com here.
For the year ended December 31, 2011, Hess Corporation saw their average fuels volume per retail store fall 2% compared to the previous year. According to their estimated 2011 financial results for the fourth quarter released today, average fuels volume per retail store was 195,000 gallons per month for the year, compared to 199,000 gallons per month for 2010.
The report also showed company operated Hess convenience store revenues were down 2% from the previous year.
According to NACS, the average US c-store sells 121,000 gallons of fuel per month annually. That means Hess company-owned stores sold about 61% more than the US national monthly average. Clearly, with Hess being a refining company, their fuel price management strategy is to focus on high volumes of fuel.
Mastercard is reporting overall fuel demand in the US is down 1.6%, so Hess volumes dropped slightly faster than the overall market, meaning Hess company stores lost retail fuels market share in 2011.
Fikes Wholesale, Inc., long time PriceAdvantage customer, has added 63 more stores to their CEFCO chain, bringing their total store count to 257 stores in seven states. When Fikes first rolled out PriceAdvantage it was to all the 123 stores in their chain. The Fikes fuel price management team quickly saw the benefits of PriceAdvantage as they were able to optimize fuel prices more quickly, reviewing and sending prices to all stores in less than one hour where it once took most of the morning.
Since rolling out PriceAdvantage, Fikes has grown their store count significantly, acquiring 69 stores from the Food Fast chain, two stores from another chain, and then 63 Taylor Food Mart stores.
The PriceAdvantage team is proud to support Fikes in their success.
It’s a good time to be buying fuel in the Rocky Mountains these days. According to the US Energy Information Administration report today, fuel prices increased nationally $.08 per gallon on average, and as much as $.10 per gallon in the Central and Lower Atlantic regions. The only region where fuel prices declined was the Rocky Mountains, where fuel prices were $.02 lower than the previous week. The Rockies now have the lowest priced fuel in the nation, with an average fuel price for regular unleaded of $3.01 per gallon. The next lowest average fuel price is in the Gulf Coast region, where an average price for unleaded is $3.20. California has the highest average fuel price for unleaded at $3.70.
Today MasterCard reported that US fuel demand is down 1.6% for the year through December 23, 2011. Fuel volumes sold in the US fell for the 17th consecutive week year over year. Fuel demand over the previous four weeks was down 3.6% compared to 2010, the 40th consecutive drop in that measure.
From a fuel price management perspective, this means c-stores are competing for pieces of a shrinking pie. This hyper-competitive fuel market demands the best fuel pricing software systems to optimize fuel profits.
According to the US Energy Information Administration “Today’s Gasoline Prices” report, unleaded fuel prices took a big dip for the week.
Average fuel prices across the US for regular unleaded dropped six cents for the week, from $3.286 to $3.229. The previous week saw a one cent drop.
Regionally the biggest price drop for unleaded fuel was in the Rocky Mountains where the average price fell from $3.238 to $3.142. The Midwest region fared nearly as well with an eight cent drop this week from $3.227 to $3.147. The West Coast region had a five cent drop from $3.548 to $3.490, the highest average cost in the country.
In the latest US Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook report, the EIA projects lower fuels price averages for next year.
The EIA forecasts that the annual average regular-grade gasoline fuel retail price, which was $2.78 per gallon in 2010, will be $3.53 per gallon in 2011 and $3.45 per gallon in 2012. The EIA expects that on-highway diesel fuel retail prices, which averaged $2.99 per gallon in 2010, will average $3.85 per gallon in both 2011 and 2012.
From a fuels price management perspective, it looks like business as usual for 2012 with regard to fuel price trends.
GM announced their goal of selling 10,000 Chevy Volts this year is now a sales goal that is out of reach. With one month remaining in 2011, GM has sold only 6,100 Volts.
UPDATE: GM officially announces they’ll miss their 10,000 target by 38%.
From a fuels price management perspective, it’s more clear than ever that electric cars are not on a near-term path to have a significant impact on overall fuels volumes. Petroleum is clearly the on-going primary source of fuels volumes sold.
A federal antitrust complaint is alleging that QuikTrip is setting their fuel prices below cost. Parker’s is another c-store chain that is fighting to keep their fuel prices aggressive. These allegations are part of the fuel pricing game for those who are fighting at the low end of the fuel price market.
When c-stores find themselves in these suits, the key to minimizing legal costs is to have access to a fuel price management system that maintains a complete audit trail of fuel prices and cost over time, down to the daily and even hourly level on a store by store basis. To prove innocence, it may be required to report both replacement and actual cost.
With the PriceAdvantage fuel price management system, these lawsuits are nothing to be afraid of.
