gas wars

[Marmino]

Petro is business partners with Exxon/Mobil
Pilot shares ownership with Marathon Ashland
Flying J has it's own refineries but let's face it they have to use other suppliers.
I have not been able to get any info on TA.

Nevertheless, if you look on the pump or on the sign most will identify the source of their fuel.

True. If a refinery is short they can just buy from another, but, this could be a domino effect regardless. If Exxon buys from another source and still can sell the fuel because of these efforts they will take note.







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[greg334]

>Petro is business partners with Exxon/Mobil
>Pilot shares ownership with Marathon Ashland
>Flying J has it's own refineries but let's face it they have
>to use other suppliers.
>I have not been able to get any info on TA.
>
>Nevertheless, if you look on the pump or on the sign most
>will identify the source of their fuel.
>
>True. If a refinery is short they can just buy from
>another, but, this could be a domino effect regardless. If
>Exxon buys from another source and still can sell the fuel
>because of these efforts they will take note.
>
>Alert | IP Printer-friendly page | Edit | Reply | Reply
>With Quote | Top

Well the problem is that many gas outlets, including some truck stops don't buy fuel from one source. The people I deal with that we buy E85 from only buys the E85 from BP everything else is bought from three distbutors and that means five different refinery operators but as he says it is just gasoline - who cares. He showed me the statements and from seeing the different refiners, all I know is that the sign out front is not the product in the tank.

 

[raceman]

Highway,

Thanks for pointed out they I seemed to have back pedaled. I did not mean too. I also never meant for my example to be taken as you, me or us as gouging. I was just trying to give an example. I apoligize for my other example of putting profits with the other things you don't talk about in public. Again I was just trying to say it is clear my opinion is very differnt than most and I was giving up by simply no longer talking about it much like I don't talk about the other three.

I very much disagree than LTL carriers do not have odd hours in which they get called out. I have done and am currently doing and have done for over a year now a non expedited, LTL/specialty freight job in my truck and my hours are way worse than they were with Express1 or Tri State. Those positions ever allowed me time off anytime I wanted it. I no longer have that option I give up a day of the schedule and I loose my deal.

Again to each of you sorry that I came across wrong with examples but not for my opinion and position. I am very much ok with people feeling bad about these costs but as I said in the first or second of my posts there are some very good reasons if you really dig into whats going on, not things that help any of our wallets and emotions but some good reasons.

Like someone in an associated post pointed out, folks need to stop listening to the TV boobs and research it(NOT YOU PERSONALLY, but anyone and everyone)

I will close by saying again I just don't have a big problem with it, YET and stick firmly to my guns that the CEO's who get paid so much. GOOD FOR THEM.


Raceman
OTR O/O

 

[trhoades]

If everyone wanted to really drive the price of these fuels down all we would have to do is slow down and do the posted speed limit. I never drive over about 62-65 mph. It saves me about 3-4 mpg. Over a years time that is about a $3000-$4000 dollars in extra profit. And if everyone just drove at posted speed, it would save millions of gallons of fuel a week. Not to mention it would make our lives alot safer. I would think that would be a better and more logical message to start mass-emailing people about.

 

[X1_SRH]

The easiest and best way to get yourself a pay raise in this business is to keep your foot out of that motor. If you can find a way to average even 1 more mile per gallon with your equipment it will keep a significant part of your revenue in your pocket and equate to STRAIGHT PROFIT. Do the math, and see what another mile per gallon could do for your bottom line at the end of the year. You WILL be amazed. Driving at the posted speed limit will equal more money in your pocket. Not theory, Fact.

 

[LDB]

Speed definitely costs. Using 55mph as a baseline every 1mph increase in speed is equivalent to approximately .1mpg decrease in fuel economy. Running 60 instead of 62 isn't going to do much. Running 55 instead of 70 is worth about 1.5 mpg. My company calculates drive time based on 47mph so if it's 470 miles from shipper to consignee you are given 10 hours drive time. Driving it at 55mph takes 8.55 hours. Driving it at 60 takes 7.84 hours. At 70 it's 6.72 hours. Presuming an 8.5mpg truck that's 55.3 gallons at 70mph or 47 gallons at 55mph. At $3/gal. that's $24.90 more in fuel. If you have 100 runs in a year that save $24.90 that's a couple months truck payment or three months house payment or six months of car note or a good down payment on a new toy or here's a wild notion, it's an annual IRA contribution so you have something other than Walmart wages during retirement.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 4958, 5447
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[grog111]

i agree but we're all familiar with the phrase "time is money" so getting done and getting the next load has to figure in there somewhere. but some other considerations are like tallcal said "oil reserves are at a ten year high" so...what does this mean... well, like greg said..... "I understand that we have limited refining capacity here on our shores, the storms took a couple off line and that everyone should be calling their representatives to get someone to eliminate the red tape and force the building of refineries due to national security." people dont want refineries in "thier" community's...it's a big problem. people want cheaper fuel but they dont want to "really" deal with the big issues, so...supply and demand gentlemen :+ i think we also have to consider the possibility that big oil knows thier days are numbered, alternative fuels and the like will eventually begin to take a big bite out of thier profits, they see it coming, if i understand it correctly, they got a billion dollar grant to research alternative, I.E.; hydrogen fuel cells themselves. but this will all take time and marketing stratagies and consumer awarness and over hauling the current methods of distribution, implimentation is a huge change in philosophy and mentality so brace yourselves

 

[greg334]

grog111,

I got to say that big oil can make more money with alternatives and other energy sources than oil in the long run. Look at BP and Shell - who are international companies, they are into the alternative energy stuff and seem to be making money. BP sent me a preproduction solar panel for testing last year and it is pretty good and not too expensive since it is in production. if they can do it, so can Marathon and Exxon do it.

Why can't the US companies get involved with this? There is no incentive to move into the field in the US because of the goverment, not profits. I would love to see our goverment do something right, but again I am dreaming.

I honestly think it all starts with the consumer.

 

[raceman]

If any of you are interested and can pick up am 700 WLW out of Cincinnati or XM173 tonight April 29 at 1900 Mike McConnell will be doing a good show on this topic.

A very good thing to do is understand why when things are not the way you like them. I am sure this show will help some understand the information on cost a little better. If you into this you will see that the oil companies have worked off an 8% profit margin when the cost was $30 a barrell and still at that same margin while it is at $71 or so. The taxes are unreal though. They have not done the same. Our government is in my opinion racking it in.

It is also important to understand if all the tree huggers stop screaming clean air, stop pollution and allowed us to build refineries and so on, these prices would be no where near this. I also think if people looked into it a bit further they would also realize they have to change how and what they drive and that aint happening either.

Last thing I will throw out is what is up with Kennedy pointing at Bush when he is very heavily involved in the ownership of three oil companies?


Raceman
OTR O/O

 

[greg334]

Raceman
You Said; "Last thing I will throw out is what is up with Kennedy pointing at Bush when he is very heavily involved in the ownership of three oil companies?"

No No NO - the question is why is Kennedy, who is for a cleaner enviorment, fighting wind power in his state?

 

[raceman]

You have a very good point. I missed that one. That is another thing that gets under my skin. What is that thing? Kennedy. Wonder what JFK would have thought of the way he has turned out

Raceman
OTR O/O

 

[Axis714]

I pay $2.79 for a gallon of water.
It costs me $10 a gallon for Mountain Dew.
And approx. $300 a gallon for starbucks coffee.
$3.29 gl. milk and so on .....

$2.79 for a gallon of fuel isnt only reasonable, its simply a bargain. $7 for a cheeseburger at the J, now thats gougeing.

 

[greg334]

>Wonder what JFK would have thought of the way he
>has turned out

He is his father's son. If you know anything of the old man, Teddy is the idiot that his father always wanted.

 

[highway star]

JFK was no real prize in his personal life. It's the image that was presented that's revered, not the reality.

 

[hill_top]

The difference is, I get a gallon of water free, (I have a well). I could go the rest of my life without having to buy mountain dew, starbucks, milk, etc. etc.

 

[Axis714]

So let me get this straight, Simply because you are a consumer of it, someone should be in charge of making it abundant and supplying it cheaply to you? Its still the cheapest liquid by volume that I can think of.
Vote for mandatory surcharge, pull higher priced freight, get better fuel mileage, do what ya gotta do, but its still simply supply and demand folks.
Take a look to your left and to your right.....see all those other trucks, theyre obviously willing to pay it. All things are only worth what someone else is willing to pay, My house for example is worthless, unless someones willing to pay me what they think its worth, and its not worth 1 penny more than that.
Ill get off my soapbox now but my entire point is this, Apparently fuel is worth what theyre chargeing, because we are all still buying it. AND ; We deserve everything we DONT get out here on the road because WE allowed it.

 

[greg334]

Axis714
I think that you made a good point but voting for what? Fuel surcharge? Actually that is the worst thing we can have, mandatory anything. The problem is once that is in place, then it would be easier to regulate us more, like we gave you this – now we want that.

I think that the absolutely best thing that can happen is not a trucking convoy to Washington but a vocal response to these idiot ideas of $100 checks, an investigation of the oil companies and all kinds of other stuff. The one who is making the biggest profit is the US government and (in my case) the state of Michigan. Just a three month relief of most of the taxes would help out so much and reduce the price at least 20¢ to more than 68¢ per gallon, which means instead of me paying $2.85 I could pay $2.31 (54¢ is the taxes for Michigan at $2.5/gal) – what a difference that would make.

But alas almost everyone wants to talk about the problem and no one wants to actually take the time to do something about it.

 

[hill_top]

axis714 I think you missed my point. It isn't about suppling me with something I like to consume. It was about comparing the cost of things that are completely nonessential for survival to something that is necessary for survival.

 

[jackdixon_2000]

I have to agree with Axis
I have been trucking since 1971 and was caught in the oil shortage of 1973. Waiting in line for an hour to buy 50 gal that would get me another 250 miles in a 5 mpg truck. That was 33 years ago and what have we acccomplished since then? We are still held hostage by rogue governments with their carrots dangling over our heads.

I don't give a darn about oil companies making record profits. At least a lot of that goes into american shareholders pockets. Its the huge sums of money going into the hands of potential terrorists that bothers me.

Its also the waste and attitudes of Americans that feel they deserve cheap fuel. You do know that the Europeans are very jealous of what we pay, right? In todays Boston Globe, an article by Kevin Sullivan talks about the price of a gallon of gas averages $6.62 in England and there are 10 other European countries over $6.00 a gallon. We complain about the high gas tax. It is around .46 a gallon in the U.S and $4.22 a gallon in Europe.

I hear truckers complain but not many are willing to alter their lifestyle a bit. Last week at 10am at the Ontario T/A with an outside temp of around 60 degrees, I deceided to walk past 100 trucks and count how many were running. The number was 62. Was that really necessary?

I look at a higher fuel price as maybe a necessary evil to spur on an awareness to start conserving but mostly get on the stick to develop more alternatives to oil, more wind, solar, nuclear etc. Drop some of these riduculously strict air quality standards that are wasting fuel.

Back to idling, when European truckers come to the U S and see all those trucks idling in the truck stops they are shocked, well, not really because they hear the stories of that back in Europe.
I was talking to a German driver recently and he told me that if someone would leave their truck running that a common citizen would probably bang on the door and tell the driver to shut his engine off

Bottom line, I only hope that we can see some consciousness start to creep back into our society like we had in the 60's and early 70's (minus the drugs, of course) lol

Now, lets all you guys get out there and buy a Prius. (jus kiddin)
But do try to shut that engine off when practical
Latter, Jack, The Wacko Calif Environmentalist

 

[greg334]

Honestly I am getting sick of hearing what Europe pays for anything, you can not make any comparison in any way other than the petro and diesel is based on hydrocarbon.

but with that said, i am trying to figure this out maybe i am too tired.; "Bottom line, I only hope that we can see some consciousness start to creep back into our society like we had in the 60's and early 70's (minus the drugs, of course)" do you mean changes made through protesting and screaming about thing? We have the power, write a letter to your congressman or senator.