Rising Gas Prices

[masons_dad1]

Average gas prices in NWA are between $3.07 and $3.17 per gallon yesterday. I drove from Dallas through Oklahoma and NWA has the highest priced gas than anywhere between. I left Dallas (Lewisville) where the cheapest gas station had regular at $2.81 per gallon and every other gas station at $2.84 to $2.89. All the way through Oklahoma the gas went a little higher at $2.94 per gallon average. I get to NWA and gas breaks $3.07 per gallon. I see a problem here.

Texas will be suspending the gas tax for 90 days to help battle these rising gas prices. Texas also has an $8 billion surplus that they'll be using for other forms of tax relief throughout the state. I guess we can expect cost of living to keep rising in NWA, especially taxes and gas prices. Both of which is already highest in the region.

[nwa_479]

Holy sh*t. Are those also the prices at Murphy USA and Sam's Club?

[masons_dad1]

Holy sh*t. Are those also the prices at Murphy USA and Sam's Club?

[mcheiss]

The BNP off Walnut was 3.23 when I went by not too long ago.

[seicer]

I'll throw in my two cents here. (And this is not specific to this state, per se.)

1. Reducing the gasoline tax would harm the highway infrastructure in the long term. Many state gasoline taxes have not kept up with inflation and as a result, many highway departments are being shortchanged. One instance of this is West Virginia, whose gasoline taxes have not kept pace -- the state has a 300-year backlog on current highway construction projects that are deemed necessary for the state to keep up for economic and safety reasons alone.

2. The cost of basic construction materials, such as concrete, have risen well above inflation rates. Costs have increased dramatically on many projects. One notable example of this is the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville, Kentucky. The original estimated costs pre-Katrina were $1.9 billion in 2003. In 2005, this was $2.5 billion. Now, it is $3.9 billion and is expected to top $4 billion upon the next estimate.

3. Infrastructure ages. Kentucky has two mega projects on tap: The Ohio River Bridges Project and the Brent Spence Bridge Project. The latter involves the massive reconstruction and construction project of Interstate 71/75 as it crosses the Ohio River in a dense metropolitan area. This involves a lot of money.

4. Such projects are traditionally funded by gasoline tax revenues (per #1). But projects like The Ohio River Bridges Project would consume 13% of the state's highway spending over the next two decades!

5. A federal fund that provides the bulk of the money for highway projects is expected to go bankrupt by 2009.

My solution?

1. Toll existing interstate routes. This is unlikely to happen because. per FHWA, you cannot toll interstate highways that were funded using the federal-state match. (There are exceptions, such as the West Virginia Turnpike, but that was due to its extreme terrain and very high costs of upgrading.)

2. New projects should be public-private enterprises. These save money in the long-run and are for-profit ventures. Obviously, these would be the most efficient and profitable in urbanized areas.

3. Encourage mass-transit, such as bus-rapid transit in areas where light-rail is not feasible. Encourage bicycling as an alternative mode of transit.

4. Increase gasoline taxes. Although this is political suicide, we are facing an infrastructure that is rapidly aging. For instance, Kentucky's budget for maintaining its existing interstate highways is increasing at a rate of 10-15% a year, leaving a smaller pot to construct new roads, upgrade existing facilities, or invest in other projects. Other states that have a more urban freeway network, such as New York, will be facing an ever greater increasing rate of maintenance costs.

[masons_dad1]

Reducing the gasoline tax would harm the highway infrastructure in the long term.

[seicer]

I think West Virginia is another state with the grocery tax.

Didn't Arkansas raise its gas price to fund the total reconstruction of its aging interstate highway network? They were consistently rated one of the worst in the nation, with 30+ year-old concrete surfaces that had well exceeded their useful life. At least the state is seeing a return on its money: their roads are very nice and smooth to drive on!

[strmchsr77]

Here is a little website that you can find out gas prices for Arkansas and all of the country. They even have maps that show where most gas stations are and what they are reporting.

Check it out: Arkansas Gas Prices

Here is the Gas Price Temp Map: Gas Map

[masons_dad1]

Here is a little website that you can find out gas prices for Arkansas and all of the country. They even have maps that show where most gas stations are and what they are reporting.

Check it out: Arkansas Gas Prices

Here is the Gas Price Temp Map: Gas Map

[jim9251]

They say it's because people in NWA make more money and can afford it. Really? I'm a state employee and barely make $31,000 a year.

They say it's because our gas comes from a refinery in the midwest and that makes it more expensive.

They say it's because of a refinery fire someplace...or a pipe broke...

They don't say it's because of the greed of the Saudi royal family and oil executives and because they can.

We can put a man on the moon, have a car driving around on Mars, but in 2007 we can't find a cheap alternative to fossil fuel?

[KJW]

They say it's because people in NWA make more money and can afford it. Really? I'm a state employee and barely make $31,000 a year.

They say it's because our gas comes from a refinery in the midwest and that makes it more expensive.

They say it's because of a refinery fire someplace...or a pipe broke...

They don't say it's because of the greed of the Saudi royal family and oil executives and because they can.

We can put a man on the moon, have a car driving around on Mars, but in 2007 we can't find a cheap alternative to fossil fuel?

[masons_dad1]

They say it's because people in NWA make more money and can afford it. Really? I'm a state employee and barely make $31,000 a year.

They say it's because our gas comes from a refinery in the midwest and that makes it more expensive.

They say it's because of a refinery fire someplace...or a pipe broke...

They don't say it's because of the greed of the Saudi royal family and oil executives and because they can.

We can put a man on the moon, have a car driving around on Mars, but in 2007 we can't find a cheap alternative to fossil fuel?

[itk]

I'll throw in my two cents here. (And this is not specific to this state, per se.)

1. Reducing the gasoline tax would harm the highway infrastructure in the long term. Many state gasoline taxes have not kept up with inflation and as a result, many highway departments are being shortchanged. One instance of this is West Virginia, whose gasoline taxes have not kept pace -- the state has a 300-year backlog on current highway construction projects that are deemed necessary for the state to keep up for economic and safety reasons alone.

2. The cost of basic construction materials, such as concrete, have risen well above inflation rates. Costs have increased dramatically on many projects. One notable example of this is the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville, Kentucky. The original estimated costs pre-Katrina were $1.9 billion in 2003. In 2005, this was $2.5 billion. Now, it is $3.9 billion and is expected to top $4 billion upon the next estimate.

3. Infrastructure ages. Kentucky has two mega projects on tap: The Ohio River Bridges Project and the Brent Spence Bridge Project. The latter involves the massive reconstruction and construction project of Interstate 71/75 as it crosses the Ohio River in a dense metropolitan area. This involves a lot of money.

4. Such projects are traditionally funded by gasoline tax revenues (per #1). But projects like The Ohio River Bridges Project would consume 13% of the state's highway spending over the next two decades!

5. A federal fund that provides the bulk of the money for highway projects is expected to go bankrupt by 2009.

[masons_dad1]

Exactly. Well put.

Arkansas only has about a 20 cent/gal tax on gasoline. Arkansas, like your state, is many billions of $ short of transportation funding.

The doomsday clock for the Highway Trust Fund is indeed ticking, set to go into the red in 2009. The unfortunate solution to that, if Washington can't get their act together, is massive funding cuts.

I've heard of those projects over/near the Ohio River in Louisville. The cost estimates are just unbelievably outrageous.

[seicer]

As a side note, I initiated a discussion at newsgroup, misc.transport.road here.

[Mith242]

Yeah I noticed how high it was when I went out of town this weekend. I couldn't believe how much cheaper much of the rest of the state was.

[masons_dad1]

Now this is ridiculous... how can we have gone from light green to yellow in the same day? At 10:00AM Washington County was in the light green and at 10:00PM WC is in the yellow! The evil bastages couldn't even have the decency to wait until tomorrow morning to raise their prices!!! Granted that the prices probably weren't updated at 10:00AM, but neither would the rest of the state which stayed the same colors.

10:00AM MAY 13, 2007

10:00PM MAY 13, 2007

[jim9251]

Some sheik in Saudi Arabia wants solid gold toilet seats in his stretch Hummer limo. A gas delivery driver told KNWA tonight it's because of a 7 inch pipeline in Rogers. Right. It's because of greed and there is nothing that can stop them (them being the Saudis and our oil company executives).

[astrife]

Some sheik in Saudi Arabia wants solid gold toilet seats in his stretch Hummer limo. A gas delivery driver told KNWA tonight it's because of a 7 inch pipeline in Rogers. Right. It's because of greed and there is nothing that can stop them (them being the Saudis and our oil company executives).

[masons_dad1]

The profit margins on gasoline is REALLY small; we are talking a few cents per gallon at the most. The price increase is more economic fluctuations in supply/demand than it is greed. Sure these oil execs are making more in a year than you and I would in a lifetime, but so are the execs at the potato chip companies.

[masons_dad1]

Another thing to consider. All the other companies on the Most Profitable Companies list are credit card, pharmaceutical and retail companies that people have a choice to buy from. People DON'T have a choice to buy gas. You must buy gas OR DIE and the oil companies know this. They're like the tobacco companies in a way, except the tobacco companies know you'll die if you buy their products. So, I guess that makes the oil companies the "good guys."

[mineola]

Oil is traded on the commodities markets. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of suppliers. With the exception of OPEC and nationalized oil production like Venezuala, it is literally impossible to maintain a cartel with this many producers. When demand is high, which it is right now, and supply stays steady or decreases, the market price for oil rises. Oil is traded just like porkbellies or orange juice. The market determines the price. Oil companies produce oil. Their cost structure remains the same, but the market is willing to pay more for their product. Thus, when oil prices reach historic highs, they make historic profits.

We must also keep in mind that U.S. refining capacity is not adequate for U.S. demand. The best way to lower prices at the pump would be to increase refining capacity. Conservation and alternative fuel sources are good ideas as well.

[masons_dad1]

Oil is traded on the commodities markets. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of suppliers. With the exception of OPEC and nationalized oil production like Venezuala, it is literally impossible to maintain a cartel with this many producers. When demand is high, which it is right now, and supply stays steady or decreases, the market price for oil rises. Oil is traded just like porkbellies or orange juice. The market determines the price. Oil companies produce oil. Their cost structure remains the same, but the market is willing to pay more for their product. Thus, when oil prices reach historic highs, they make historic profits.

We must also keep in mind that U.S. refining capacity is not adequate for U.S. demand. The best way to lower prices at the pump would be to increase refining capacity. Conservation and alternative fuel sources are good ideas as well.

[mineola]

All good points. I doubt the oil companies will increase refining capacities because that would cut into their profits. I agree that conservation and alternative fuel is the only way to get these gas prices down. I just bought a 2004 Impala SS that gets 30MPG on the highway, but I average 24MPG in the city. It has the looks and the power I was looking for in a car, but I didn't realize it requires premium gas when I bought it! Hybrid vehicles are still a little pricey, lack reliability and are just plain ugly, but there's a few cars out there that get great gas mileage and don't look too shabby either. I will be a little wiser the next time I go shopping for a car.

[astrife]

Gas company's profit margins are among the highest in any industry.

Most Profitable Companies

#1: Exxon Mobil - The oil giant racked up $39.5 billion in earnings last year, the largest-ever profit in U.S. history. That figure topped the previous record of $36.1 billion, also set by Exxon Mobil, in 2005. Profits were up 9.3% from the previous year, while sales rose 2.2%.

#7: Chevron - Earnings of $17.1 billion were up 22% year-over-year, bolstered by Chevron's $16.4 billion acquisition of Unocal. That deal, as well as its 2001 purchase of Texaco, makes the company the second-largest U.S. oil outfit, behind Exxon Mobil.

#8: ConocoPhillips - No. 5 on the Fortune 500 this year is another big oil company that's reaped handsome profits thanks to record crude oil prices in 2006. But it wasn't oil prices alone: ConocoPhillips managed to boost profits by 15%, to $15.5 billion, on only 4% revenue growth.

You must be referring to the profit margins of the gas stations selling the gas, not the companies selling it to the gas stations. The kind of profits that the oil companies are making are more about greed than supply/demand. They know when people want to drive more (Spring/Summer) they can make bigger profits by raising prices.

BTW: None of the potato chip companies made it to the Most Profitable Companies list.