Originally posted by PA 3L SVT:
Originally posted by BOFH:
I don't believe the oil companies set the price of fuel. The only thing they control, just like OPEC is production. They really can't even control the gasoline basic formula as the EPA has a couple of dozen different formuations throughout the USA.
Read up on 'zone pricing' - there are two Exxon stations within a mile of each other here. One is charging $1.999/gal, and the other $2.119/gal. I asked the $2.119 owner why he ALWAYS charges $0.10/gal more than his neighbor and it's because he's in a different price zone. Exxon charges him more for the supplied fuel. Exxon (all of the oil co's actually) definitely has direct control of the selling price of fuel. They base the price of supplied fuel on a variety of factors, including amuont of local competition, local demand, local marketing charges, and local income levels. Giving them a direct hand in the local selling price of fuel.
Oh yeah, the SAME EXACT truck delivers fuel to the two stations.
Is one station farther from the refinery than the other? They have to draw the line somewhere.
There are all sorts of examples of stuff like this, especially in the phone biz. In some rural areas, a call to your neighbor a mile down the road is long distance, but a call into town 20+ miles away is a local call.
Huh?
Back to the distributor, I'm sure they have some formula that dictates the price of fuel based on the NYMEX price, distance from the refinery or distribution terminal (where you get gas out of a gasoline pipeline) etc.
Heck, the same truck, may deliver gas to an Exxon station, then a Texaco or Chevron next. The only difference is the industrial sized bottle of fuel additives they pour into the bulk tanks.
Gas is gas in any market, but the additives are supposed to be different by brand.
TB
"Seems like our society is more interested in turning each successive generation into cookie-cutter wankers than anything else." -- Jato 8/24/2004
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