how much are you paying for gas?

[cbcbd]

This reminds me of when I grew up in Brazil and we had a gas crisis...
People would run their cars down to nothing to avoid getting gas.
I remember being in a line of cars outside the gas station, pushing my mom's car along the line (and I wasn't the only one pushing a car).

Good thing my daily commute is about 6 miles.

 

[poboxjosh]

Gas stations don't really make money on the gas... some stations are even having to sell the gas at a loss right now.... during "normal" times gas stations only end up making about a penny per gallon... right now some stations are reporting losses of as much as 10 cents per gallon... some are gouging and making money off of it to be sure... and it will get worse as supplies get short.... but as it stands right now just because prices are going up, don't assume that the gas station is making bank on it... further up the supply line is coming out ok.. but part of that is because they are also losing huge amounts of money with every day that they are not up and functional... literally costs refineries that are damaged millions of dollars a day to not be putting out refined fuel.

You are correct as far as gas stations usually only make about 7-10 cents per gallon. But right now gas stations(mostly the smaller independent ones) are making a killing. When the price of gas jumps up 25 cents in 3 days nobody knows what the correct price is so gas stations can take this time to make a real margin.

 

[TurfBurn]

You are correct as far as gas stations usually only make about 7-10 cents per gallon. But right now gas stations(mostly the smaller independent ones) are making a killing. When the price of gas jumps up 25 cents in 3 days nobody knows what the correct price is so gas stations can take this time to make a real margin.

The stations up here only make a penny per gallon normally... (I worked at one part time for a while so I know directly)... Also... keep in mind that in one to two days the wholesale cost of gas (from refineries to gas stations) went up by about a dollar.... so gas stations are going based off what they are getting... but yes... plenty are trying to make margin... but keep in mind too, that every time some bastard drives off on 50 dollars of gas or whatever that a gas station has to pump anywhere from 500-5000 gallons of gas to make that up! And it happens a LOT. Either way, none of this is really all that good for anyone... but it is sad/stupid that some places are really taking far too much advantage of it .

 

[poboxjosh]

I also worked at a gas station for about 2 years part time. Normal margin is between 7 and 10 cents. Your big grocery chains with gas stations and things of that sort may make a little less but,no normal gas station makes a penny. if they made a penny to pay a min wage employee say 5 dollars an hour they would have to pump 500 gallons an hour just to break even with an average tank of 12 gallons that takes 42 cars per hour to pay for the employee.

 

[TurfBurn]

I also worked at a gas station for about 2 years part time. Normal margin is between 7 and 10 cents. Your big grocery chains with gas stations and things of that sort may make a little less but,no normal gas station makes a penny. if they made a penny to pay a min wage employee say 5 dollars an hour they would have to pump 500 gallons an hour just to break even with an average tank of 12 gallons that takes 42 cars per hour to pay for the employee.

I've seen the sheets so I know what the station makes... their big thing is food... the margins on food are huge... and this is like in the last couple months mind you... not like years ago etc... was also interesting because they did a news cast last week about the gas prices and they talked to a different station than the one I worked at that was in a nearby town of a different brand (BP versus Kwik Trip) and they also said 1-2 cent profit margin. And the news reporter confirmed that for other stations as well.

 

[poboxjosh]

i worked at a gas only station that did oil changes. again if you have a secondary income source you can make less but...

 

[TurfBurn]

Yeah... I see with some quick research that nationally it is typically between 3 and 10 cents.. I'm guessing why KT is only 1 cent at the station is because the markup for the rest is done by corporate... since KT is vertical so the "company" probably makes more, but the station doesn't... the company also pays the wages, not the store/station. On average a day the station I worked at would sell over 400 gallons of milk, over 100 lbs of bananas, and over 100 loaves of bread. Also would sell over 200 food units of hot foods with profit margins that are considerable etc... And during busy times moves probably about 500-700 gallons per hour minimum....

 

[zzMSP03.5]

i just paid 2.90 for crappy 87 gas. 91 octane was 3.05. gas is so expensive here on the central coast of california. what is everyone else paying for gas right now?

I drove by the one of the cheapest places for gas by me, regular - 2.97; premium - 3.14.... im gonna ****** ride my bike to work if thats gonna start being the case... 25-30 dollars to fill my msp was enough.. now like 35-40??? you have got to be kidding me. I am 20, make decent wages... but i just dont have the money to pay for gas like this. We are now going to work, to pay for going to work... what bulls***. **** katrina, and **** bush for going to the middle east and ******* with them... just open the oil reserves in alaska. Shouldnt we have done that a while ago? (boom01)

 

[TurfBurn]

**** katrina, and **** bush for going to the middle east and ******* with them... just open the oil reserves in alaska. Shouldnt we have done that a while ago? (boom01)

They already are working on opening the reserves... read the news once in a while... and based on what do you by any means justify your comment toward the middle east? It's already been discussed in this thread that refineries are the issue.... and OPEC is already pumping out more than enough crude... but the oil futures (which is like a stock market) is what has driven up the crude price.... the Saudi's and everyone else does NOT set a price for a barrel of oil... it's whatever the "going rate" is for the oil based on demand and oil future purchases which is handled stateside by US organizations... that's why we in the US are paying around 70 dollars a barrell while some places pay 20, and others pay nearly 80...

Learn before you accuse.

 

[mogi]

What good is opening the oil reserves if we don't have the refinery capacity to handle the crude oil?

 

[TurfBurn]

What good is opening the oil reserves if we don't have the refinery capacity to handle the crude oil?

Nothing other than fill the gap for any crude that can't make it in from the gulf etc... and with the pumps in the gulf off line until they get the rigs hooked back up they will need to source the crude from somewhere else.... hence opening alaska.. but again it's a useless point until refinery capability comes open... we were at 98-99% of capacity... and now 10% of capacity is missing... so we are out of capacity...so crude does nothing..

But people would rather transpose their political views against something and have someone to b**** at or about... even though they are completely wrong in doing so. "Damned if you do... damned if you don't."

 

[Pro5Monkey]

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1029991

As the oil companies are posting record profits, I doubt that they have a problem with the tree-hugger environmentalist blocking expansion of existing facilities and construction of new ones. As long as demand is high and supply is perceived as low, prices soar and we get sore every time we fill up. (I keep a jar of Vasoline in my glovebox (crazy))

Oh, yeah. I also doubt ol' George, Dick, Condie and their pals have a problem with these damned tree-huggers as long as they're getting rich(er).
Make me wonder who the "environmentalists" are woking for (thought)

 

[Pro5Monkey]

Check out this investigative report from Senator Ron Wyden from back in 2001. It seems that long ago, in the mid '90's, big oil was looking for ways to "increase profit margins".

http://wyden.senate.gov/leg_issues/reports/wyden_oil_report.pdf

Well, it seems they have suceeded...
And, as Martha Stewart would say, It's a good thing!

Here are some facts about the Bush Bunch...

"Condoleezza Rice was a Chevron Director from 1991 until January 15, 2001 when she was transferred by President George Bush Jr. to National Security Adviser. Previously she was Senior Director, Soviet Affairs, National Security Council, and Special Assistant to President George Bush Sr. from 1989 to 1991.

Another Chevron Corporation giant in the Bush administration is Vice President Dick Cheney. Vice President Cheney was Chairman and Chief Executive of Dallas based Halliburton Corporation, the worlds largest oil field services company with multi-billion dollar contracts with oil corporations including Chevron. Lawrence Eagleburger, a seasoned Bush counselor who held top State Department posts under George Bush Sr., is a director of Halliburton Corporation."

 

[TurfBurn]

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1029991

As the oil companies are posting record profits, I doubt that they have a problem with the tree-hugger environmentalist blocking expansion of existing facilities and construction of new ones. As long as demand is high and supply is perceived as low, prices soar and we get sore every time we fill up. (I keep a jar of Vasoline in my glovebox (crazy))

Oh, yeah. I also doubt ol' George, Dick, Condie and their pals have a problem with these damned tree-huggers as long as they're getting rich(er).
Make me wonder who the "environmentalists" are woking for (thought)

Right from the article:

But many wonder if any of those increasing profits overseas and at home are being spent on energy solutions to solve refinery woes and shrinking U.S. oil production.

"The answer is yes, but the impact of those is not immediate," said Mike Rothman, the head of integrated oil research for the International Strategy & Investment Group.

But yes.. they are making a lot more

 

[TurfBurn]

If you want the story on Cheney's portion:
http://www.factcheck.org/article261.html


Fact is anyone in politics has ties to big business... But while Americans keep buying gas no matter what.. prices will keep going up or staying high.

 

[TurfBurn]

Check out this investigative report from Senator Ron Wyden from back in 2001. It seems that long ago, in the mid '90's, big oil was looking for ways to "increase profit margins".

http://wyden.senate.gov/leg_issues/reports/wyden_oil_report.pdf

wow that is a piece of crap report...

Major points they miss:
1) There is no account for the calculation of end pump price relative to/offset by the barrel pricing.
2) At no point did they compensate the earnings based on the money saved by shutting down refineries (duh... if you reduce overhead you increase profit...)
3) Most of the eport focuses on actions and policies that were initiated in and around 1995-1996... when we were buy gas for UNDER a dollar... considering taxes averaged then around 40 cents per gallon (taxes are now around 55 cents per gallon at least here in Wisconsin) you can see quickly where the overall profit margins involved are NOT very large...
4) Demand has also increased considerably, while fixed overhead has been diminishing or held constant... that will results in massive profit increases.

Now don't get me wrong, I realize they are making more money now... but making it out like they are suddenly price gouging to "quadruple" their profits is BS because it by no means accounts for reduction in fixed overhead or the additional profit obtained by the increased demand on the SAME infrastructure that was previously underused. Additionally, as industries age cost control measure help bump up profits...

Again... crap article...

 

[anarchistchiken]

I just bought 20 gallons of 87 octane at $3.55 per.


Hurricanes are a b****.

 

[Anakin]

$6.15 per gallon (95 oct) here in Finland. And im not shitting about it! (argh)

 

[otmsp]

13 gallons for $40. out of control.. (notcool)

 

[TurfBurn]

$6.15 per gallon (95 oct) here in Finland. And im not shitting about it! (argh)

BTW... that's Bush's fault too (rollseyes)