by John Keller | Aug 12, 2010 | Customer News, Industry News, PriceAdvantage
Convenience Store Decisions picked Rutters as their winner of the 2010 Convenience Store Chain Of The Year award. Rutter’s is the second consecutive chain under 100 stores to receive the award, emphasizing that it’s not the size of the chain that matters, rather the quality of its offering. Rutter’s has evolved from small town player to industry leader and has impacted the way the industry does business, especially in the area of technology. President and CEO Scott Hartman has emerged as an industry leader instrumental in pushing technology standards that allow convenience retailers to compete more effectively with supermarkets and mass merchandisers.
“Retailers are under enormous pressure as they battle depressed margins, unprecedented competition and high credit card processing fees both in store and at the pump,” said Tom McIntyre, group publisher of The Convenience Store Decisions Group. “The purpose of the Chain of the Year Award is to showcase the best of the best in convenience retailing and Rutter’s certainly meets that definition.”
Skyline Products is proud to have Rutter’s as a PriceAdvantage customer for over five years.
by John Keller | Aug 4, 2010 | Fuel Price Optimization, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
On August 4, 2010, CNN.com reported details of the BP fuel price discounts as explained by a representative of OPIS.
Here’s what BP is offering, according to Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service:
- Up to a penny off the wholesale price of a gallon
- A rebate if distributors keep up their fuel sales
- A discount in the rate BP charges service stations for customers who use credit cards
- A “temporary voluntary allowance” worth a penny a gallon
All told, the discounts add up to between three and four cents a gallon, he said.
CNN also reported anecdotally that one BP station in McLean Virginia was selling fuel prices $.03 lower than the competition across the street.
Traditionally BP dealers market fuel prices at the premium end of the fuel pricing spectrum. Clearly fuel pricing strategies are now impacted by the BP incentives. Competing c-stores of BP will need to adjust their market positioning in response to the new fuel price positioning of BP stations.
by John Keller | Aug 3, 2010 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News
Crude oil today is trading $2 higher than yesterday at $81.34/bbl. Sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at $81.43 a barrel early today. The price increase is attributed to the dollar weakening broadly, and to tropical storm Colin. Additionally, weekly inventory data is expected to show crude oil stockpiles in the United States fell last week.
Some analysts are now looking for crude to hit $87/bbl in 2010. There are 42 gal of oil in a barrel, and it takes between 1.5 and 2 gal of oil to make a gal of gas, depending on the refining process and type of oil.
by John Keller | Aug 3, 2010 | Uncategorized
In the August 3 Convenience Store News Web event “State of C-store Technology: Facts, Trends and the Future”, attendees of the CSN and Gilbarco Veeder-Root event reported that their 2011 technology budgets are expected to be higher than 2010. And technology investments are moving beyond PCI Compliance.
Among the technology projects c-stores are investigating are marketing-oriented investments such as electronic price signs. Other projects are focused on improving operational efficiencies, including dashboards for exception reporting. Upgrading POS systems is yet another technology focus.
PriceAdvantage Fuel Pricing software fits nicely into the categories of what c-stores are focused on in the coming year. PriceAdvantage works closely with Skyline electronic price signs to proactively diagnose possible problems with a sign display, potentially fix those problems via software, and display critical information about parts at the sign to reduce field service costs by making sure the field trucks arrive with the right parts the first time. And PriceAdvantage goes beyond sign operations to address the needs of the Fuel Manager, by accelerating speed to the street, and getting the optimized fuel price to the right store at the right time. The Fuel Price Management dashboard in PriceAdvantage provides the exception reporting needed to course correct fuel pricing strategies at each store, and to maximize volume and profits. If upgrading POS systems is on the project list, PriceAdvantage has included Gilbarco to its list of supported POS systems that already includes VeriFone and Radiant.
Whether your technology plans include moving to a PCI compliant POS system, improving the fuel price displays at the store, or growing fuel volume and profits, PriceAdvantage fuel pricing software belongs on your short list.
by John Keller | Jul 29, 2010 | Fuel Pricing Technology, Industry News
In their latest “This Week In Petroleum” report, the US Energy Information Administration provides an interesting summary of the potential use of algae cultivation as an alternative fuel source. Algae has many attributes that make it potentially attractive as a future source of commercially produced fuel.
One of the most attractive aspects of algae as a fuel source is its high productivity. It would take 62.5 million acres of soybeans (an area approximately the size of Wyoming) to produce the same 3 billion gallons of oil that could be produced from only 2.5 million acres of algae (an area approximately 70 percent the size of Connecticut). Three billion gallons of biodiesel represent about 8 percent of all the diesel fuel used for on-road transportation in the United States in 2008.
Algae also has a much higher energy production rate than corn. Algae cultivation can produce 32 tons per acre resulting in 162 – 486 gigajoules of energy per acre, depending on cultivation techniques. Corn produces 8 tons per acre resulting in only 36 – 72 gigajoules of energy per acre.
And with algae, there is no competition between food production and fuel.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory reports Honolulu, Phoenix and Denver as US cities who could theoretically be top producers of algal fuel.
Algae has the attention of the US Federal government, large energy companies, and venture capitalists who continue to fund demonstration projects and research into developing algae-based biofuels for commercial application. Current estimates of the production cost of algal oil range from $4 – $40 per gallon, depending on the type of cultivation system used. So while production of fuels from algae have been demonstrated, more research is needed before commercial scaling is realistic. But with all the research money being poured into this field, perhaps in the not-too-distant future we’ll have algae farms throughout the US contributing to our fuel source.
Sources: US EIA “This Week In Petroleum”; National Renewable Energy Laboratory “The Promises and Challenges of Algal-Derived Biofuels”
by John Keller | Jul 29, 2010 | Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
The US Energy Information Administration weekly report revealed regional fuel price increases in the East Coast and Midwest drove up the national average overall. The U.S. average price for regular gasoline increased about three cents to $2.75 per gallon, $0.25 higher than a year ago. The average on the East Coast moved up two cents to $2.67 per gallon. The largest increase occurred in the Midwest where the average went up nearly four cents to $2.74 per gallon. The Gulf Coast increased less than four cents to $2.59 per gallon. The average in the Rocky Mountains was essentially unchanged at $2.75 per gallon. On the West Coast, the average rose a penny to $3.07 per gallon. Inching up a fraction of a cent, the average in California was virtually unchanged at $3.13 per gallon.
For the first time since the week of June 21, the national average price for diesel fuel increased, moving up two cents to $2.92 per gallon, $0.39 above last year.
by John Keller | Jul 28, 2010 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Industry News
These are good days to be in the retail fuel business. Valero announced in their Q2 results that their retail fuel operations segment had a record-setting performance with $109 million in operating income. These are the best second quarter results in Valero’s history. Valero reported their success is due to strong fuel margins at its gas stations and convenience stores.
A Fuel Executive for one of our PriceAdvantage customers reports they are up $2.4M so far this year. Other PriceAdvantage customers report recent months are some of the strongest ever.
In times like these, what do companies do to keep the momentum going? BJ’s Wholesale and High’s Dairy are investing in Fuel Price Management solutions from Skyline Products to automate their fuel pricing process to further improve speed to the street, and to maximize their fuel margins and profits. Shrewd companies like BJ’s and High’s recognize that using these strong profits to further optimize their fuel pricing strategies and to improve pricing efficiency is the way to make the most of these times of plenty.
by John Keller | Jul 22, 2010 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Optimization, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
According to the US Energy Information Administration report issued July 21, the U.S. average price for regular gasoline fuel was, in essence, unchanged at $2.72 per gallon, $0.26 higher than last year. On a regional basis, price changes were mixed with the East Coast average dropping a penny to $2.65 per gallon. The Gulf Coast fell less than a cent to remain at $2.56 per gallon. The average in the Rocky Mountains moved up about a penny to $2.75 per gallon. Prices in the Midwest and on the West Coast increased about two cents to settle at $2.70 per gallon and $3.06 per gallon, respectively. The average in California went up nearly two cents to $3.13 per gallon.
The national average price for diesel fuel decreased for a fourth consecutive week. However, the price dropped less than half a cent and, consequently, remained essentially unchanged at $2.90 per gallon but was $0.40 above a year ago. Despite increasing by small fractions of a cent, the average prices in the Midwest and on the Gulf Coast were effectively unchanged at $2.87 per gallon and $2.86 per gallon, respectively. Prices on the East Coast and in the Rocky Mountains slipped a penny to $2.91 per gallon and $2.90 per gallon, respectively. The largest decline took place on the West Coast, where the average dipped a penny and a half to $3.04 per gallon. The average in California slipped less than a cent to stay at $3.12 per gallon.
by John Keller | Jul 15, 2010 | Fuel Price Optimization, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
According to the US Energy Information Administration, the U.S. average price for regular gasoline dropped for the second week in a row. The U.S. average price for regular gasoline slipped a penny to $2.72 per gallon. The national average was $0.19 higher than last year. With the exception of the Midwest, average prices declined in all regions of the country. On the East Coast and Gulf Coast, the averages each dropped more than a penny and a half, to $2.66 per gallon and $2.56 per gallon, respectively. Despite an increase of less than a half cent, the average in the Midwest was essentially unchanged at $2.68 per gallon. The average in the Rocky Mountains slipped over a cent to $2.74 per gallon. The West Coast average fell about a cent to settle at $3.04 per gallon and the California price dipped less than a half cent to $3.11 per gallon.
by John Keller | Jul 8, 2010 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Optimization, Retail Fuel Margins
According to the US Energy Information Administration report issued July 8, the U.S. average fuel prices dropped for the first time in three weeks. The price for regular gasoline fell three cents to $2.73 per gallon. The national average was $0.11 higher than last year.
Regionally, average fuel pricing slipped in all sections of the country. The averages on the East Coast and on the Gulf Coast dropped about three cents each to $2.67 per gallon and $2.58 per gallon, respectively. The largest drop took place in the Midwest where the average slumped more than a nickel to $2.68 per gallon. The average in the Rocky Mountains declined a penny to $2.76 per gallon. The West Coast price slipped half a cent to settle at $3.05 per gallon and the average in California fell a penny to $3.12 per gallon.
