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Despite panic and fuel spikes, oil supply OK
By Sean Kelley
At truck stops and gas stations across America Sept. 11, truckers and motorists lined up to fill empty tanks as prices spiked. A truck stop in San Antonio increased diesel prices above $2 a gallon. Another stop in Alabama raised prices by 33 cents in one hour.
Gas prices in Oklahoma peaked at more than $4 a gallon for regular gasoline at some stations.
Fuel card provider Comdata, which tracks many of the 10,000 truck stops and fuel stations in the country, said it was tracking 1,400 truck stops that raised diesel prices Sept. 11-12. The average price increase was 12 cents, but a Comdata spokesman said those truck stops were only a small percent of the total number of fuel locations, and many had not changed prices at all.
Mark Derks, a spokesman for fuel service provider T-Chek Systems, said diesel markets are experiencing unexpected price increases across the nation. “Prices are most notably moving upward across retail markets where today's (Sept. 12) national retail diesel average has already mounted to $1.5425 per gallon; an increase in the range of 7 cents per gallon from yesterday (Sept. 11).
The greatest price swing was found in the Midwest, where diesel prices raised more than 8 cents a gallon. “Analysts believe suppliers are pricing higher to mitigate panic buying of petroleum products and trying to maintain available supply for consumers … Industry truck stop suppliers are posting higher retail prices where some represent increases as high as $0.65 cents per gallon.”
Retailers also are concerned with product availability, distribution schedules and wholesale costs, Derks said. The national average wholesale price, currently $0.9535 per gallon, has remained firm, but a survey of seven major truck stop chains found an average retail price increase of 17 cents per gallon since Sept. 11, Derks said.
The oil industry says nothing is amiss with fuel supplies and prices should return to normal in a few days. The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s largest association, said in a statement that supplies were adequate to meet normal demands. “We remain confident that fuels are flowing normally to wholesale and retail markets throughout the United States. Gasoline and diesel fuel inventories are adequate to meet demand and refinery production remains strong.”
API said it was aware of reports that lines were forming at gas pumps in some sections of the country and of other isolated panic-related incidents caused by fears that any disruption in the gasoline supply system could lead to higher prices or shortages. It also said there are allegations that some stations are taking advantage of the situation to increase their prices.
"API and its members do not condone and, in fact, strongly denounce any attempt to use this crisis to take advantage of consumers. If there is any illegal activity, those responsible should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
An analyst at the organization, Ron Planting, said diesel and gasoline inventory is six million barrels ahead of where it was at this time last year. Besides, even if foreign supplies are cut off, "We have the strategic petroleum reserve -- 570 million barrels of oil which can be released by the president."
Equilon Enterprises, a joint venture between Shell Oil Company and Texaco Inc., said consumers and truckers should go about business as usual.
“Current industry data indicates that the nation's overall inventory of fuel is adequate to meet normal levels of demand. We encourage consumers to buy gasoline as they normally would to minimize sharp swings in gasoline demand and availability.”
The company pledged to help maintain to hold gasoline and diesel fuel prices steady for the next couple of days. The hold applies only to prices at Shell and Texaco stations that the company owns and operates. It also applies to retail and wholesale prices the company charges independent dealers and wholesalers throughout the U.S.
Even so, truck stops report that wholesalers are raising prices. A spokeswoman for Pilot Travel Centers said fuel suppliers have raised prices 10 to 15 cents per gallon. The company says if things remain calm the fuel market should return to normal in the next few days. All Pilot Travel Centers are operating normally and the company said it plans to make sure each stop will have fuel.
Independent truck stops, like the Jubitz Truck Stop near Portland, Ore., say their trying to keep prices down but may have to raise prices if the market changes. "We’ve been able to maintain our prices for the last 24 hours," said Beth DuPont, Jubitz's director of marketing. "We’re monitoring this very carefully. We’ll have to go with what the market is demanding."
Prices mid-day Sept. 12 at Jubitz, one of the nation's largest truck stops, was $1.379 for diesel.
Some truckers say they’re seeing prices spike and aren’t happy about it. Trucker James Bricken fired off a letter to one truck stop chain that hiked fuel prices after terrorists attacked sites in Washington D.C. and New York City. “The dust from the (World Trade Center) had not even settled before you started gouging the public,” Bricken wrote. “I know your wholesale prices could not have been affected that quickly.”
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