Fuel Advice

Fueling Good about Fleet Fuel Costs

2009-08-05T13:28:00.004-04:00

Is Your Fuel Program solid? How is Your Fuel Planning?

Today's latest and greatest on fleet fuel came out. Would you believe if I told you:

Oil prices fell to below $70 a barrel Wednesday following a Department of Energy report that showed crude supplies rose last week, Bloomberg reported.
Crude futures fell $1.49 to $69.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices had dipped 16 cents Tuesday after earlier topping $72, Bloomberg said.
DOE reported Wednesday that crude inventories gained 1.7 million barrels last week, well over the 600,000 barrels forecast by analysts at Bloomberg.
Gasoline stockpiles fell by 200,000 barrels and distillates, which include diesel fuel, fell by 1.1 million barrels for the week ended Saturday, DOE said in its weekly report.
Oil prices are up 60% this year although prices have fallen by more than half since the $145.29 record Nymex closing price set in July 2008.

Fuel Management, Fuel Consulting, Fuel Programs who needs that stuff when you have a market where gas and diesel prices are so easy to predict that your fleet management company can do it on it's head.

People, these crazy things going on with your fleet fuel program are real. Fuel prices are just should I say it, stupid right now. At what point does the market go back to looking at fundenmentals to determine its fleet fuel pricing.

We sure hope it's soon. Fuel management and fuel planning are taking on a whole new meaning. How can you make serious judgements when the fuel game is always changing.

One way only. Fuel Consulting company, fuel management company, fuel planning or Sokolis Group willget your fleet fuel program on track and stay the course. Ok, I know it was more than one way. All arrows point toward Sokolis Group.

If you want to save money or your fleet fuel cost, contact Sokolis Group, 267-482-6155, http://www.sokolisgroup.com/. We take the guess work out of fuel management and put the fleet fuel saving back in your company's pocket.

It’s the Magic Fleet Fuel Program Ride

2009-08-03T14:41:00.003-04:00

Fuel Consulting maybe, Fuel Management you’d better.

Have you watched the cost of crude oil, gas and diesel fuel go for a crazy ride like a roller coaster over the past few weeks?

You haven’t been paying much attention? Then you’re probably paying too much for your fleet fuel. If you don’t know what is going on with your fleet fuel program and the fuel cost associated with it, how can your fuel management program be effective? Is it time to call in a fuel consulting company? Let’s look at the fleet fuel cost for crude over the last 2 weeks.

July 13th $59.60 fleet fuel cost, crude oil
July 17th $63.56 fleet fuel cost, crude oil gained 6.6% in price in 4 days
July 21st $64.81 fleet fuel cost, is your fleet management feeling squeezed?
July 24th $66.96 fleet fuel cost, crude oil gained 5.3% in price in 5 days
July 27th $68.34 fleet fuel cost, your fleet fuel cost or cost to fill up your car might not feel it yet….
Aug. 3rd $71.68 fleet fuel cost, mid day, ok day is not over so it can go higher or lower.
What are you betting on?

In 3 weeks time, your fleet fuel cost for crude oil has gone up 20.2%. Are you worried? Is your fleet fuel program up for the challenge? Why is this happening? Now, that is a great fuel management question. Why?

We have plenty of fuel supply. Record high crude oil supply, gas and diesel fuel you can swim in and an economy that is still broken, isn’t it?

Sokolis Group thinks it’s great for companies to report profits for their business but does it mean the economy is getting better or not?

This recent push in fuel costs is putting the cart before the horse in our view. You need to have economic demand for fleet fuel before the price raises. The price should not rise because, because, because. There are many reasons to think the economy should go in the right direction since we are sitting on a lot of fuel inventory that will only grow.

Does your fleet fuel program allow you to know how well you are buying fuel? Are you getting fuel discounts, fuel rebates on your fleet fueling card? Do you even use the right fleet fueling card?

How well is your fuel management system run? Does your fleet management company or internal business section manage fleet fuel costs for you?

If you are not sure how your fleet fuel is being handled or what fuel management even is, it’s time to make the leap of faith and call Sokolis Group.

Our fleet fuel program clients of all sizes will tell you, we are one of the best things they have done to save real diesel fuel dollars. Let our staff of fuel experts help. Sokolis Group can provide fuel consulting for your company as well as a comprehensive fuel management program.

At the end of the day you will look like a winner and your company will be saving money.

Bottom line, we are in the worst economic slump since the Great Depression.

No time better than now to improve your fleet fuel program, and fleet fuel costs by having a fuel management and fuel consulting company on your side.

Contact: Sokolis Group at 267-482-6160 or www.SokolisGroup.com for all of your fuel management and fuel consulting needs. Helping your company with its fleet fuel program.

Fuel Management, Fuel Management, The Way to Save

2009-07-31T12:52:00.007-04:00

Last Year’s Diesel-Price Nightmare Teaches Fleets to Diversify Options in Buying Strategies to Cut Costs

By Mindy Long, Special to Transport Topics

As you will read through Mindy's article Fuel Management is the key to success. Different companies do fuel management differently but the one thing for sure if you want to be successful you better have a fuel management program.

Diesel prices have dropped almost 50% since record levels last year, but fleets continue to work on cutting fuel costs, one of their largest expenses.

In the past, relying on one tool or technique may have been sufficient, but in the market today, carriers say they are combining many methods to ensure they save every possible penny.

From using fuel optimization software and tracking the futures market to setting specific fuel card parameters, many fleets are creating a check-and-balance system that, when put together correctly, lets them buy smarter. Some fleets are also employing new products and changing driver habits to maximize fuel efficiency.

“Fuel is now our No. 1 cost in our organization, even more than labor, and there is such uncertainty around it,” said Roger Placzek, vice president of sales and marketing for deBoer Transportation, Blenker, Wis.

To help minimize that uncertainty for the fleet’s 450 tractors, Placzek said he relies on telematics and fuel-optimization software to track purchases.

“We’re able to be more competitive when we’re dealing with bids and proposals for our customers,” he said.

Placzek uses TMW Systems’ fuel optimization software — IDSC Expert Fuel — which overlays fueling locations with a fleet route and combines that with available networks and discounts to determine how much a trucker should buy at specific locations.

Since beginning to use Expert Fuel, Placzek has been buying less fuel on contract and more on the open market.

“The loss of the volume incentives has been outweighed by the advantages we’re incurring in buying off the retail market,” he said.

Fuel optimization software allows fleet management to narrow purchases even if they have a contract with a chain.

“Within a chain, prices can vary 50 to 75 cents based on location and on the traffic volume at the truck stops,” said Chris Lee, marketing director at ProMiles, a fuel optimization software provider in Bridge City, Texas. Locations farther away from refineries and racks typically have higher prices.

ProMiles also allows users to select other truck stop services, such as parking or dining, to make the most of the stop.

“The fewer stops you make, the more you maximize the fuel purchase,” Lee said.

Optimization software allows fleets to price fuel net of taxes. Although higher fuel taxes in one state may make it seem like a driver is paying more at the pump, it will lower overall cost over time since fleets pay fuel taxes based on where they run.

“A price of $2.50 at one location could be less when you factor out taxes than a location that says $2.40 at the pump,” said Ben Murphy, vice president of optimization studies for TMW Systems, Beachwood, Ohio.

However, carriers that use an optimizer need to make sure the recommendations they receive are accurate.

“We see optimizers that should work in theory but make recommendations that aren’t in the best interest of the fleet,” said Brad Simons, president of Pathway Network, Simons Petroleum.

Jim Guldan, chief financial officer at J&R Schugel Trucking, said the company doesn’t use fuel optimization software for its 650 tractors, but instead purchases the majority of fuel with one vendor to obtain volume discounts and then tracks revenue and expenses to determine more accurate pricing for customers.

J&R Schugel relies on activity-based costing and profitability management software provider Transportation Costing Group, Rockville, Md., which provides tools to help fleet management portray fuel costs, revenue and profitability for individual customers, specific lanes, shipments or even certain times of the day.

“The name of the game is to be current and accurate so that you can measure what the costs are. If you can’t measure what the costs are, you can’t manage them,” said TCG President Ken Manning.

Guldan also works with J&R Schugel’s Comdata fleet fueling card to create a restricted network for drivers.

As part of its services, Comdata, Brentwood, Tenn., works with customers to analyze the fueling network, examine past pricing information and determine the best stops for the fleet. “If you don’t have a fuel optimizer, you are forced to look at the historical data and then factor in the discounts to find the locations with the best prices,” said Tim Hampton, Comdata’s vice president of sales for the central region and vice president of energy services.

Hampton said fleets can set parameters so drivers are able to purchase fuel only at locations where they have secured discounts.

“This is ultimately a fuel management decision for each business, but there is money to be saved by consolidating gallons, negotiating discounts and locking down your fleet fuel card to a limited network,” Hampton said.

Rich Stecklair, vice president and general manager of universal sales for fleet fuel card provider Wright Express, said fleets can combine the benefits of the fleet fuel cards with telematics devices that draw on Global Positioning System data to help fleets find the most convenient fueling locations.

“If you’re spending five minutes driving out of the way to save four cents on a gallon of fuel, the math doesn’t work,” Stecklair said.

Wright Express uses Web-based fuel calculators with mapping tools to direct drivers to the best fueling locations. If a driver buys fuel outside of his or her parameters, Wright Express alerts the fleet. Fleet management also can use fleet fuel cards and telematics to track driver behavior, eliminate fraud, improve routing and reduce speeding, all of which add up to greater savings and increased driver productivity.

“There is an endless list of checks and balances you can put in on that card,” said Glen Sokolis, President of the Sokolis Group, a fuel management and fuel consulting company in Warrington, Pa. Fleets can limit the time of day, days of the week and how many gallons a driver can purchase — but Sokolis Group warns fleet management not to set it and forget it.

“You still need to look at the physical transactions to make sure they make sense,” Sokolis said. He also advised fleets to review every fuel invoice to ensure the price quoted is the price charged.

Optimization software and historical data can help fleets determine where to fill up based on the direction prices are heading. When prices are increasing, fleets can shift purchases to locations that don’t move as many gallons, because their prices will rise more slowly.

“When prices are dropping quickly, you look for those locations that move a lot of fuel because they get shipments faster,” Murphy said.

Bulk fuel purchases may save fleets a few cents per gallon, Sokolis said, but he recommends that fleets factor in infrastructure and maintenance costs to arrive at the true price.

“Some fleets might spend a huge amount of capital to put storage tanks in, but they’ll never get a return on what they invest,” he said.

Sokolis noted that he recently helped a client in Florida to price tanks that needed to be replaced because of a change in environmental regulations.

“Between the cost of the tank, the construction and how much fuel they use, it would take them over 20 years to get a return, let alone if anything goes wrong or there are government changes that require them to change the tank,” he said.

Buying in bulk also ties up capital.

“If you take a load of 7,500 gallons of fuel at $3 a gallon, you’ve got $22,500 of capital sitting in the ground that it might take you three weeks to get through,” Sokolis said

Fleets that benefit from buying in bulk and operating their own fuel islands still need to monitor how much fuel is received and dispensed. Fleet asset-management company EJ Ward, San Antonio, monitors inventory and fueling for its clients.

The company offers passive or active tracking of fleet vehicles with its telematics device, the CANceiver, to track odometer readings, maintenance needs, acceleration and braking patterns and more.

“What we are pulling off of the engine-control module is critical to how the fleet manages their fuel dispensing and how much fuel is being used on the vehicle,” said Troy Goldhammer, EJ Ward’s chief operating officer.

The company’s active tracking allows real-time information, while passive tracking occurs when a fleet fuels.

“With passive you have significant savings because you don’t have the monthly fees you would with a cellular network,” Goldhammer said.

In addition to buying smarter through software and telematics, fleets are also trying to buy less and reduce nonrecoverable fuel surcharge miles.

“When things get tough, you have to start focusing hard on your costs,” said Steve Graham, vice president of purchasing at Schneider National.

Schneider has worked on reducing idling, limiting out-of-route miles and minimizing the number of miles between delivering one load and picking up the next one.

Improving overall fuel economy is one more way fleets can improve their bottom line. EJ Ward works with PressurePro tire pressure monitoring systems to improve mileage and reduce tire wear through proper inflation.

“We can provide data in real time to tell them they have a low-pressure reading on a tire sensor, and that data can be transmitted at the fuel control terminal or through the cellular network,” Goldhammer said.

EJ Ward’s system can dispense a limited amount of fuel or prevent fueling altogether if im-proper tire pressures haven’t been corrected.

Fuel Costs Climb

2009-07-24T12:13:00.002-04:00

Fuel Management Statements in today’s news and our comments to them in Bold

Oil prices held above $67 a barrel Friday, adding to gains made overnight, as world stock markets rallied on signs of improvement in the U.S. economy.

Ok, the U.S. economy might be improving. Companies are reporting better than expected earnings but earnings are still not as good as most previous earnings and revenues for most companies are down. Pointing more toward wage cuts than actual growth.

By midday in Europe, benchmark crude for September delivery was up 11 cents to $67.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, the contract added $1.76 to settle at $67.16.

Evidence that the recession-hit U.S. economy is strengthening has bolstered investor optimism and triggered a rally from $58.78 a barrel two weeks ago. While crude demand hasn't rebounded yet, traders have begun to have more faith that consumption will eventually pick up.

Yo-Yo ride. The oil market has gone up and down like this over the last couple of months. In fuel management you learn to control the controllable. Things like margins from your fuel vendors and where your drivers fuel their trucks.

"We haven't seen demand increase yet, but all the good news about the economy seems to be adding fuel to the fire," said Gerard Rigby, an energy analyst with Fuel First Consulting in Sydney. "Just the fact that things are improving is enough to change the sentiment of a lot of people."

Why would demand be increasing for gas or diesel fuel? The American people have changed their driving habits, some don’t even have any where to drive since they are unemployed. So your not going to see gas demand increase anytime soon.

For diesel fuel demand to go up, you need fleet fuel of trucks on the road delivering products. As revenues for U.S companies came out this week, we can see that has not occurred. No increase in trucks to deliver products, no increase in diesel fuel demand. Again, manage what you can with your fuel cost, manage your fuel expenses through a solid fuel management and fuel consulting program.

"I wouldn't say the current fundamentals support oil at $65 to $70," Rigby said. "A lot of countries aren't out of the woods yet."

"It's putting the cart before the horse, but that's what the market does."
Rigby said he expected oil to rise over the next few weeks and test an eight-month high of $73.23 a barrel reached on June 30.

This is a guy that I believe knows what he is talking about with fuel costs. Fleet fuel demand, gas prices, diesel fuel cost don’t support where we are right now. Perhaps in a few months they will, even more reason to get your fuel management under control now.

Lastly, as a fuel management and fuel consulting company we always try to help our clients and potential clients buy diesel fuel and gas the best they can. Fuel management is very important if you want to control your fuel costs. As the U.S. economy improves fuel costs will go higher. Will your supplier margins go higher? You probably won’t know unless you have a team of fuel experts on your side watching your fuel management.

Sokolis Group is a fuel management and fuel consulting company. We save companies tens of thousands of dollars a year by lowering their fuel cost through lowering the fuel margins they pay. Sokolis Group can be reached at 267-482-6155 or www.sokolisgroup.com. Fuel management at its finest.

Fuel Management, What Makes Company Successful!

2009-07-17T12:04:00.002-04:00

Why Fuel Prices go up & down, who is watching your Fuel Management?

With the economy still not growing at the rate most people would have expected by this point in time, getting your costs under control is very important. Fuel Management is one of the most difficult to control if you don’t fully understand it. Most companies pretend to think they are managing their fleet fuel costs and have their fleet management under control but do they really?

Over the last 20 years, I have seen more people not know what fuel actually costs; therefore to have a fuel management program becomes almost impossible for them. Proficient fuel management can reduce your fuel spend 5 to 15%. How you might ask? Easy, it’s called management. The same way you would manage your work force or capital expenses, you manage fuel. The problem is most people don’t fully understand fuel cost so they can’t do proper fuel management and they don’t want to seek help because like most of us, human nature says, “Asking for help makes me look weak.” In this economy no one wants to look weak or ask their boss to spend a little money to save a lot of money on fuel management.

What is fuel management? Fuel management is a broad term used by many different companies for different things. Fleet fuel card providers use the term because their card helps customers buy gas and diesel fuel and provide fuel reports, therefore they feel that this is fuel management. GPS companies use the term fuel management because their devices track vehicles and can reduce the amount of miles used and therefore reduce the volume of diesel fuel or gas bought. There are companies that feed information into computer systems and tell the client the lowest priced place to buy fuel, they also call this fuel management. We won’t argue that most of the claims by these companies are fuel management. Let us explain fuel management by Sokolis Group.

Fuel management by Sokolis Group is rolling up the sleeves and analyzing how you are currently buying your diesel fuel and gas. It’s creating visibility behind what you are really paying for your fuel; are you paying fair prices? Determining if the way you are currently purchasing fuel for your truck fleet is the best way to fuel management. How much are you paying your drivers? Are your drivers waiting a long time at a truck stop or fuel stop? Do your bulk fuel pumps only have 1 or 2 spots to fleet fuel your trucks and your drivers are waiting? Are you paying a fuel jockey nightly to fleet fuel your diesel units? Plus many other areas determine fuel management just to get started.

Wait for the next blog entry to find out about fuel management or email me directly at gsokolis@sokolisgroup.com.

Sokolis Group is a fuel management & fuel consulting group that helps companies manage and lower their fuel costs. www.sokolisgroup.com or 267-482-6155.

Fuel Prices Falling

2009-07-03T12:09:00.002-04:00

Prices of Crude Oil, Gas Prices and Diesel Fuel as demand is down and inventory is high.

Oil fell towards $66 a barrel on Friday, adding to a drop of nearly 4 percent the previous day, as unemployment data hardened views economic weakness would sap energy demand further and that last month's rally was overdone. OPEC fuel management for fuel supply and fuel demand has been off the mark.

In the latest sign the economy of the world's top consumer was still struggling, data on Thursday showed U.S. employers cut 467,000 jobs in June and the jobless rate rose to a 26-year high.

Oil prices have doubled from a low of $32.40 a barrel in December last year and they surged by 42 percent in the last quarter — the largest quarterly gain since 1990.

The latest U.S. government data showed a bigger than expected increase in stocks of motor fuel ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend, typically a time of high demand as the peak of the U.S. summer driving season.

With all of the bad news, we think the rally is over and we will see $60 a barrel for oil before we see $70 a barrel. Of course we are free to change our minds.

For all your fuel management and fuel consulting needs, Sokolis Group will take care of you. Please reach out to www.sokolisgroup.com or 267-482-6155

Fuel Management? How about Carbon Management!

2009-06-28T14:06:00.005-04:00

Is Cap and Trade good?

Are you asking yourself what is Cap and Trade? To put it as simply as I possibly can, it's a tax that will be put onto companies that use more carbon then they should. Is this good for fuel companies? Is this good for the price of diesel fuel or gas or anything?

Let's take a closer look. We all know that the World is in a very difficult economic environment right now. We also know that over many years we have not been as environmentally concerned as we should, especially when it comes to carbon. The carbon tax will affect all of us because the money spent by oil companies, coal companies, trucking companies or anyone else will be passed onto the consumer, right?

I think we need a cap and trade policy. I don't think we need it right now when we are struggling to make ends meet with our economy. I would like to see a phase in policy. A solid policy on carbon will be beneficial for the future of the earth but it can not put a huge constraint on the growth of companies.

What are your thoughts?

Sokolis Group is a fuel management and fuel consulting company that helps companies control their fuel costs. How are you fueling today? We can be reached at www.sokolisgroup.com or 267-482-6160.

Fuel is Like a Ballon

2009-06-15T08:21:00.001-04:00

Up, Up and Away. Gas prices up 17 more cents in the last 2 weeks. Did you see that coming? With Crude Oil prices over $72 a barrel. You can figure that gas prices will get real close to $3 a gallon. Making fuel management more difficult not only for gas prices but for diesel fuel costs as well.

It was a year ago today that most of the country was paying over $4.00 a gallon for gas prices and almost $5.00 a gallon for diesel fuel. If we look at it from that side, things are not that bad.

Our fear at Sokolis Group is this $72 a barrel for oil prices just seems to be a little high right now, given the countries state of economic recovery. The fear being if we are at $72 now what happens when we see real economic turnaround. Are we back at gas prices at $3.75 and diesel fuel costs at $4.00? Does that hurt the turnaround?

Most of the upturn in crude oil prices has to do with speculation that massive government spending has led to fears of inflation and uncertainty about the dollar. By investing money into crude oil it helps certain investors eliminate those fears.

If you want more information about how you can help your company with its fuel management program or if you need fuel consulting to control your fuel costs, please reach out to the Sokolis Group at 267-482-6155 or www.SokolisGroup.com

Fuel Costs, You’d Better Watch Out; Fuel Prices are Going Back UP!

2009-06-01T17:53:00.008-04:00

Are gas prices, diesel fuel costs and crude oil really going up or is this just a bunch of talk. No talk, its real. Diesel fuel costs have remained flat and have actually gone down a little since the beginning of the year but that probably won’t remain for long.

Gas prices are up 45 cents a gallon for the month of May. If it’s March that comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb for weather, then this year it was May for fuel costs. With gas prices up 45 cents a gallon, crude oil prices up 30% from $50.35 a barrel on May 1 to $67.60 on May 31. Crude oil is back and alive like before.

Why? Great question with no real answers just that it keeps going up. Good news it goes up, bad news it goes up. A long period of $69 a barrel crude oil prices will spell $3.00 a gallon for gas prices and the same for diesel fuel price.

Here are a couple of fuel facts on why Fuel Management is important to keeping your eye on the ball. On December 23, 2008 the price of crude oil was $30.28 a barrel. It’s now 5 months later and $37 more a barrel for oil. Another interesting fact, the last time a barrel of crude was as low as it was on December 23, 2008 was November 25, 2003 at $30.02.

The economy might not be back at full strength and the true fuel price probably shouldn’t be this high right now given the economic conditions, but it is and let’s see how it plays out, right? Wrong, do something about it, NOW!

Don't go out and try to close the barnyard door after your horse has already run away. It's to late then, get a fuel management program and plan in place with fuel experts before your shaking your head at $4.00 diesel fuel.

Reach out to Sokolis Group for fuel management & fuel consulting so that we can help you control some of these fuel increases. Call 267-482-6155 or www.SokolisGroup.com.

Let's Not Forget

2009-05-25T19:14:00.004-04:00

It’s Memorial Day!! A day to remember all of the people that have serviced this great country! Do we still look at it that way? Or do we look at it as a day off from work. Today, I did one of the American traditions on this day and went to the local parade. Not just any parade but the Doylestown Town parade. I live it Doylestown and it’s a really great place to live. Think of Mayberry with a couple of extra dollars in the pockets of the people that live there. Go to Google and you can see it’s a really nice place.

Ok, so what does this have to do with fuel? A couple of things I think of are how many wars we have been it to protect certain lines of combat and how many of those wars involved protecting oil rich countries. One word, Iraq, but the list is a lot longer. As you know from many other columns, I am very neutral on my politics. If you tried to figure me out it would drive you crazy.

Other things I was thinking of as I watched was the local Fire Department display of its fire trucks burning fuel, and all of the elected officials riding on the back of cars waving and let’s not forget the corvette show of people racing their engines as more than 30 -40 of these things go by. I guess it’s all good fun. A lot of wasted energy for sure but if the crowds weren’t watching the parade what would they be doing, probably burning some other kind of energy.

I guess where this person struggles with everything, is how do you get into the parade? We don’t make corvettes in Doylestown. It is certainly nice to pay our appreciation to the fire department, police department, ambulance department, Lions club, American Legion, Boy scouts, Girl scouts and many other organizations that are involved. Could we do it without the cars and trucks?

Listen, we waste energy at Sokolis Group too and we also waste energy at the Sokolis household. I don’t like to but it happens. My only thought is could we be more proactive when it comes to these things.

Sokolis Group is a fuel management and fuel consulting company. We help companies buy and manage their fuel usage as well as helping them reduce the amount of fuel and energy they burn. Please visit us at www.sokolisgroup.com or 267-482-6155. 3 Cheers for America, the Best Country in the World.
PS.

OPEC meets next week about production and output. Let’s see how that goes.

Fuel Up, Up and Away!!

2009-05-19T08:17:00.003-04:00

So have you heard. The economy is better, therefore fuel prices are going higher. Oil rose to a fresh six month high above $60 a barrel on Tuesday as unrest in key producer Nigeria and a U.S. refinery outage kindled concerns over oil fundamentals after weeks of equity-led rallies.

Sure there are other things that are making gas prices higher and diesel fuel prices higher. Let's take a look.

Key African and OPEC producer Nigeria has long suffered from losing part of its oil output and missing export obligations due to insecurity in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Main militant group said on Monday it would blockade key waterways in the delta to try to prevent crude oil exports after days of military helicopter and gunboat raids on its camps. We were getting cheap gas or diesel fuel out of this area anyway because of the issues, now it's going to help make the fuel prices jump up higher?

In the world's top consumer United States, an explosion disrupted output at Sunoco's refinery in Pennsylvania, pushing U.S. RBOB gasoline to a seven-month high ahead of the peak summer driving season. Yes, Sunoco which is only 25 miles away from Sokolis Group headquarters is a large producer of gas on the East Coast, so I could see a small spike maybe a couple of pennies a gallon of fuel.

The fact is gas prices are up 25 cents over the last 3 weeks before the issue at Sunoco. I still don't believe that these prices are real. Short term no cheap gas, yes. Longer term, this price is peeling back a dime or two. Just my guess.

To keep up with the latest in fuel costs, fuel discounts turn to Sokolis Group a fuel management and fuel consulting company here to help you at www.sokolisgroup.com or 267-482-6155.

FUEL'S Crystal Ball

2009-05-11T13:38:00.005-04:00

If you have any doubts about the future direction of fuel prices, pay attention to what’s happening today.

Don’t be lulled by the fact that the average price for a gallon of diesel has declined to $2.185 a gallon, well below the record of more than $4.75 set in July. Don’t let the first whiffs of economic revival mask the inevitable return of fuel-price increases.

A barrel of crude oil on New York’s Mercantile Exchange hit almost $57 last week, reaching its highest trading level since November. Crude prices have now risen 18% during 2009, even as year-over-year demand for diesel is 18% below year-ago levels and as crude stocks have reached their highest levels since 1990.

Last week’s crude prices apparently were sparked, at least in part, by Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, when he made some very measured statements about what he termed the early stages of economic healing.

Bernanke said the housing market is beginning to stabilize and that the sharp reduction in business inventories noted during the first quarter was apparently nearing an end.

One can only guess what would have happened to crude oil prices if Bernanke had made more positive comments.

Commodities speculators apparently are convinced that the tight supply situation that helped push crude prices to $120 a barrel a year ago will quickly reappear when the worldwide recession ends.

Prudent trucking fleets won’t relax their efforts to improve their fuel efficiency, efforts that began when fuel prices went haywire.

Even as lower prices have made it harder for fleet executives to shell out money to improve fuel use, our fuel story this week shows that some are moving ahead with their efficiency programs.

Failure to act now could lead to a repeat of what happened to many fleets when fuel prices went on a rampage not so long ago.

As a nation, we are no better prepared to cope today than we were last year, when records were being set even as the world slid into the recession.

Thus, prudent fleet executives need to prepare now for the higher fuel prices that we know are coming.

If you are a fleet executive and you are playing the game of chess with fuel prices, what's your next move? Do you have one? Are you feeling sleepy because you are forgetting about the fuel prices, like others before forgot about the hurricanes?

My next move as a fleet executive, fuel manager, fuel buyer would be to hire the Sokolis Group a fuel management and fuel consulting company. You are saying to yourself of course that is what you would say but hear me out. Today fuel prices are low, not as low as a couple of months ago but still low. Do you know how well you are doing today with the way you buy fuel? Or are you stabbing at it like so many fleets do?

If you had legal issues would you try to read the documents yourself and sign off on them? I don't think you would so now is the time to have a fuel expert, look at your fuel program. Sokolis Group will review your fuel buying process, fleet fuel cards, discount fuel program.

You will be able to rest easy to know a fuel management and fuel consulting team is working to solve all your fuel price issues and headaches.

Sokolis Group is a fuel management and fuel consulting company. 267-482-6155 or http://www.sokolisgroup.com/

Parts of this article were contributed by Transport Topics

Turn Around in Fuel?

2009-05-06T17:34:00.003-04:00

I am all for an economic turn around. It can't happen fast enough for any of us but are we going against false hopes at least in fuel?

So U.S. gasoline stocks declined unexpectedly last week, falling 200,000 barrels to 212.4 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

The EIA reported that crude inventories increased 600,000 barrels last week to a fresh 19-year high at 375.3 million barrels, a smaller build than expected. Yes, you read that correctly a fresh 19 year high. We are really swimming in oil.

Ok, Michael Phelps swimming in oil. Then why has fuel rose over 10% in the first 3 days of this week? Hope, the hope that fuel is going to go up because the economy is getting better. Sure it's getting better don't you see all of the people dancing in the streets! Oh, my bad those are the unemployed workers, bankers going through "stress tests," earns off by some companies.

I don't want to be Joe the Downer or Joe the Plumber or anything like that, we have all seen the market raise 2,000 points over the last 7 weeks or so and that is great. Did any of us truly feel that the market should have gone that low? No! Gloom and doom media hype. Did we see it in fuel last summer? Remember at the gas pumps $4.00 a gallon, diesel fuel $5.00 a gallon. Fuel was the top story everyday and they weren't talking about cheap gas or cheap diesel fuel.

Prediction today. Fuel won't reach $60 a barrel over the next 3 months and the Dow will get to 10,000 before crude oil gets to $70 a barrel.

When you call me to tell me I was wrong, if I am remember that predicting the future is not my business. Fuel management and fuel consulting are which are things we can control. For more information on how you can make your company stronger reach out to Sokolis Group, Fuel management and Fuel consulting at www.sokolisgroup.com & 267-482-6155. Your company needs a solid fleet fuel program, let us put a fuel program in place for you now.

Fuel Prices Up's and Down's!

2009-05-04T08:17:00.003-04:00

We start this week with Fuel prices from crude oil up about 8% since last Monday. We all expected that to happen did we? I mean last weeks financial news and news in general was wonderful.

It just goes to show you, how crazy the World Oil market is. This week will test the Oil market a little and see what happens to it. We have big news this week coming out. The U.S. government on the health of 19 big banks on Thursday (let's hope they don't have the Swine Flu) and April's unemployment rate since we are coming of the March unemployment rate the highest in 25 years.

If there are some positives from both of these reports and the stock markets continue to do their slow but steady climb, we could see fuel grab hold and run up into the high 50's.

The other side of things of coarse is we have the Miss Piggy Flu out there that everyone says is under control but what would you expect people to say we have a massive outbreak drive your SUV's (forgot you got rid of them when oil prices went to $5.00 last summer) OK, drive you hybrids to the hills and hide. Last week this news was pulling the fuel market down early in the week.

It's strange last I looked we still had barrels and barrels of oil and were over supplied. It's always nice to have wishful thinking that things are going to get better sooner than later but most believe we still have 6-9 more months before things will turn around. Maybe there is some kind of groundhog in Pennsylvania we can pull out of the ground that will give us a more accurate prediction.

In the meantime, look towards our advise and give us a call 267-482-6155. The Sokolis Group's fuel management and fuel consulting programs have helped many of the leading companies in the country with how they manage fuel supply. We can help you too. www.sokolisgroup.com.

Chryler has Fallen Down, Can it Get Back Up?

2009-04-30T10:20:00.001-04:00

Chrysler heading down the Chapter 11 walk to restructuring the company assets to begin hopeful turnaround? I’m not so sure that is going to happen, the turn around that is. Yes, they have done it before but that was in a total different environment. It can’t be a fun walk by the way and I do feel for everyone at Chrysler.

Chrysler like many other companies especially the U.S. automakers reminds me of our current economy. They didn’t recognize the changes to the industry until it was too late. When foreign car makers started making strong in roads in the U.S market in the 70’s, those companies have basically stayed with what got them to the dance and now dominance. The built regular size cars, that got good miles per gallon, were reliable vehicles and priced right. The other big key for them, I believe is that they had a brand or two and very few models along with very few bells and whistles that could be added.

For many years almost all U.S. car companies kept making new brands, new models and yes, you need that to stay fresh to a point. What the car makers really needed was to take a hard line stance on the UAW. I am not against unions by no means but year after year when your business keeps losing market share and you (the union) keeps asking for more, eventually something has to give.

When the United States and most of its people spend more than they make, something has to give. That is where we are at today. This is not a happy day to see Chrysler head down this walk because other companies will suffer both short term and long term. I don’t think they will come out of Chapter 11. I think total bankruptcy or sell off is next. They had a hard enough time selling cars before. I certainly don’t think you know a lot of people that will be running out today to buy one. I wish them luck.

This article has nothing to do with gas or diesel fuel unless you connect the dots that say Chrysler vehicles run on those fuels. New fuel news and fuel information coming soon. May’s newsletter will be out Tuesday.

Sokolis Group is a fuel management & fuel consulting company that can be reached at www.sokolisgroup.com or 267-482-6155.

Could Swine Flu Slow Economic Recovery

2009-04-27T07:30:00.002-04:00

Pig’s get Fat, hogs get slaughtered; OPEC made a ton of money last summer, could they pay for it this summer by a Pig Flu?

Oil has traded near $50 a barrel this month, about a third of its record high in July, as the global economy remains weak and traders grapple with an uncertain outlook for recovery.

On Sunday, Abdalla el-Badri, Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, warned that oil prices of $50 per barrel are "insufficient for continued investment" and urged a $70 barrel.

Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil predicted on Sunday that prices would rise to $60 a barrel by the end of this year.

But Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheik Ahmed Al Abdullah Al Sabah said Sunday that a price of around $50 a barrel is "reasonable" for crude considering the global economic slowdown. He said OPEC should wait for the results of massive stimulus packages by governments around the world before deciding whether to cut production at the cartel's next meeting on May 28.

Irony maybe, OPEC which in the world of other sports knocked the cover off the ball for most of last year with fuel price over $100 and reaching almost $150 fuel, had many chance last year to slow that dramatic raise. Instead because of their own piggish creed got fat rich and happy during that period.

Now with the economy in a slump partly because of them, they OPEC are begging for $60 or $70 a barrel. The old expression that I know is pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered. With the Swine Flu hitting Mexico and at this point we are only talking about 100 people, so say this could slow world economic recovery. Could a pig that took so much from us last year, this year really get slaughtered by an actual pig disease?

Wow!

For future help in your fuel management, fuel consulting and latest news on pigs in the fuel market please reach out to us Sokolis Group. We can be reached at www.SokolisGroup.com or (267) 482-6160.

Earth Day, What Does It Mean?

2009-04-22T13:22:00.002-04:00

Before hitting on oil, let's give the Earth its props today. It is Earth Day after all. The day really doesn't get a ton of attention. Maybe if we made it a holiday that would help. Heck, the USPS would have the day off which would help them save money on their fuel budget.

Global Warming is real, we are all part of the problem, and we must all be part of the solution. The average American is responsible for a whopping 24 tons of CO2 a year. How do we create that much carbon? Let’s take a look planes, trains, cars, lights and pretty much anything that uses power and energy. So what can you do conserve, recycle, be mindful. If we all do our own little part things will get better. Not overnight but it took us more than overnight to get here. As firm believers to a better place Sokolis Group wants you to do your part and help.

What’s Up With Oil!!

U.S. fuel demand has now drifted down to its lowest level since May 14, 1999 and there are concerns that a bottom may be weeks if not months away. Thanks mostly to the descent of on-road diesel fuel usage and jet fuel, the U.S. total fuel demand number hit 18.16 million b/d last week. One has to go back 119 months to find a lower number, and now that heating oil season is over the 10-year low could soon be threatened. If this is market economic 101. Supply and Demand. We just have a lot of supply and not a lot of users of petroleum. At least not as many users as we had when the economy was rolling along a year or so ago.

Gas stocks rose by 802,000 bbl to 217.3-million bbl despite a fairly robust demand increase of 192,000 b/d to 9.136-million b/d. Imports continued to stream into the U.S., with arrivals of gas and gas blendstock at 1.117-million b/d. Distillate stocks rose by 2.68-million bbl to 142.3-million bbl, and the build occurred largely because demand was a thoroughly miserable 3.452-million b/d.

We still believe the fuel market is going into the mid 40’s for a barrel of crude in the short term. Are we projecting a strech with that number, who knows. At Sokolis Group we believe if you have a solid fuel management program in place which is making sure you have good fuel deals, fuel discounts, a hedging program if that works for your company, you are better prepared then most of the companies out there.

Go outside and enjoy some SUN. Remember to put sunscreen on because we have already burnt off part of the Earth's atmosphere.

$50, $50, $50 Do We Move?

2009-04-16T20:27:00.002-04:00

Oil Prices have taken on a new pattern called $50. Fuel price for crude oil continues to stay around $50 for the past week or so. Maybe up a little or down a little but basically $50 is the number.

Don't take me wrong, $50 is a nice number. Seems fair to me to have $2 gas prices per gallon and $2.25 a gallon diesel fuel prices. I think fleet fuel customers as well as casual drivers can live with those fuel rates. Are they going anywhere? Only looks like its going to go down from here. Mid $40's is my bet by the end of the month. Why? Why not? What's going to spark a fuel buying spree.

What's your thoughts?

Sokolis Group can help you reduce your fuel cost, fuel margins and increase your fuel rebates.

Earth Day is coming next week. We support the Green Move. Another company that we just started to do business with that supports Go Green is www.360FuelCard.com. Visit there new web site, I think you will like what you see.

Sokolis Group can be found at www.sokolisgroup.com for all your diesel fuel and gas price help.

OPEC Cut Fuel Prices? We Don't Think So!

2009-04-13T20:09:00.002-04:00

Will OPEC Cut Again? Heck No!!

Oil has recovered to a $47 to $54 range for the past four weeks from a low of $32.40 in December. It is still down by almost $100 from a record high above $147 last July.
News Saudi Arabia would in May trim oil supplies to some of its Asian customers and one European buyer suggested the world's top exporter was concerned about high inventories and helped to limit selling.

Saudi Arabia has been largely responsible for OPEC's high level of compliance—estimated at around 80 percent—with agreements to reduce output by a total of 4.2 million bpd since September last year.

The kingdom and other members of the producer group have lowered their price ambitions, saying oil at around $50 a barrel is a good compromise given the weakness of the global economy.

Well it's no wonder OPEC will say they can live with fuel cost at $50. They really don't have a choice do they? If they drop production and prices increase, then who is going to buy the fuel? Don't get me wrong we need gas and diesel fuel to operate in this country but people will cut back even more.

The mighty OPEC will have to sit on the sidelines and wait for the economy to recover just like the rest of us. It was only a couple of years ago they were thrilled with $30 a barrel, have they had that much inflation, I think not.

To have your fuel cost locked in for the next year is not the worse thing you can do in the world. Fuel cost will probably go up slightly along with gas prices and diesel fuel so better to be safe then sorry.

Sokolis Group can help you every step of the way in your fuel management program. As fuel experts, we have the knowledge to scope a program just for your company. Visit us at Sokolis Group www.sokolisgroup.com or give us a call 267-482-6155.

Fuel Demand for 2009, Projections Cut?

2009-04-13T19:38:00.003-04:00

If you read yesterday's Fuel Advise, Sokolis Group basically said what is keeping these fuel prices high. We had no real answer, we wish we did but it's been a bullish fuel market, which has made fuel cost raise. Now new fuel news today.

Fuel fell to settle near $50 a barrel on Monday after the International Energy Agency cut deeply its forecast for fuel demand, offsetting the impact of data showing Chinese crude imports rose to their second highest ever.

The IEA said on Friday world oil demand would fall by 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) this year compared with 2008 as the rate of contraction in fuel consumption reached levels last seen in the early 1980s.

Does this really surprise anyone? The World is in a recession and unless you are in a cave in Afghanistan you have known this for several months now. It's called basic supply and demand principles. Not enough demand for fuel to meet the building supply for fuel.

So now what is going to happen? Dealers will be listening for any confirmation of the IEA's demand forecast this week. The U.S. Energy Information Administration releases its short-term energy outlook on Tuesday and OPEC publishes its monthly view on Wednesday. If the market feels the fuel projection numbers are wrong by the IEA and the others project a more promising future for fuel cost to go higher, than the fuel market will take off later this week.

On the other hand, if they all come in saying basically the same thing that the economy is in the drain and fuel prices will remain in the drain as long as the economy does or until OPEC cuts products, then we could see this market fall to under $40 a barrel fairly quickly over the next week.

If you just want to make sure that you are buying gas and diesel fuel at the best rate possible along with having a company with full fuel knowledge not only looking over you shoulder but sitting on it, then you want to hire Sokolis Group for our nationwide outsourced fuel management & fuel consulting programs. We clear all of the mess out of the way, so all you get is fuel cost facts, gas price information, diesel fuel discounts and a completely professional fuel managed program. www.SokolisGroup.com or call one of our fuel friendly customer service professionals at 267-482-6155.

Bad Economy, Plenty of Fuel & Fuel Prices Climb?

2009-04-12T16:59:00.005-04:00

We have a fuel surplus of 45 million barrel. That's a lot of fuel oil. Economic data released Wednesday showed wholesalers cut their inventories in February by the steepest amount in more than 17 years as companies struggle to reduce stockpiles amid slowing sales. The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories dropped 1.5%, the most on record dating back to January 1992 and more than double analysts' expectations.

What gives? More fuel, higher fuel cost at the pump, less fleet transportation, less mileage being driven by car and bad economic data results with increase crude oil prices. Unfortunately, this market has a knack for ignoring fundamentals.

With refiners holding back production and some unexpected refinery outages the bullish market has driven up fuel prices over this past week.

At Sokolis Group and with a lot of other fuel management companies we all believe that the market will continue around the $50 a barrel market. The fundamentals of the fuel markets say it can't go higher but could it? Sure. It's Oil, anything can happen.

Sokolis Group is a nationwide outsource fuel management and fuel consulting company. We assist our fleet clients in buying fuel and managing their fuel supply chain on a daily basis. For more information contact www.sokolisgroup.com or 267-482-6155. Get control of your fuel purchasing today.

Flat, Fuel Cost. What is wrong with that?

2009-04-05T14:46:00.005-04:00

Fairly steady crude oil prices and little change in supply and demand caused the gas price and diesel fuel cost to flatten last week.

Nationally, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.04, down half a cent from last week. Diesel fuel was up one cent to $2.268.

"We still expect to see gradual increases in retail gas prices due largely to the supply and demand fundamentals that always contribute to an upward trend for fuel prices at this time of year," Gregg Laskoski, a spokesman for AAA Auto Club South. “A surge in consumer demand, which is likely as Memorial Day weekend approaches, could push prices higher.” That will be determined if people have jobs and money to take them anywhere.

Diesel fuel volume at national truck stops have dropped by a national average of nearly 20 percent. Those bullish on oil point to the inevitability of "peak oil," arguing that the time will come when we hit the peak of global oil production. From that point on, we'll be able to pump less fuel and less oil out of the ground. In economic terms, we'll face decreasing fuel supply.

Meanwhile, bulls argue that fuel demand will increase greatly, as China and other emerging markets fuel their economic growth with oil. On average, each person in the U.S. consumes about 25 barrels of oil a year; each person in China consumes just more than two. That's a lot of possible future fuel demand.

And all of us amateur economists know what happens when you restrict fuel supply while simultaneously increasing fuel demand: prices rise. Um, weren't these the same arguments made when oil was at $147 a barrel? Yup. At that price, all these favorable supply and demand assumptions were baked in, and then some. The subsequent fuel price fall highlights that we'll only make great returns if we buy at low prices.

In other words, looking at fuel price movements by themselves just isn't that helpful. We need to estimate oil's intrinsic value. How do we do that? Great question? Stay tune for another issue when we will look further into fuel cost and fuel management.

Sokolis Group a outsourced fuel management & fuel consulting company, likes to keep clients and potenial clients up to speed in the fuel market. www.sokolisgroup.com

Your Company Needs

2009-03-02T23:00:00.002-05:00

Most of you have probably click through from our newsletter that we publish weekly. In that newsletter and even here at our blog we try not to do a lot of self promotion. After all, we are the Sokolis Group not Trump. We usually let our work do the talking for us. Please take a look at past blogs.

This blog is directed at your company and is totally self promoting from Sokolis Group. Read on, does your company need or have:

Fuel Expert on staff
Wants to save money to lower operating costs
Needs advise on what fuel card to use, where to buy your fuel
Fuel audits and your fuel costs and helps you with budgeting
Negotiates fuel deals, reviews how well your deals are compared to others
We will save you money and more importantly look out for your companies best interest

We understand that these are difficult economic times, that is why we want to help. We always save companies 2-6 times more than they spend with us. Additionally, we provide customized reports, keep you informed of the fuel industry, fight for credit, fuel discounts, fuel rebates for you. Don't believe us, believe them http://www.sokolisgroup.com/testimonials.html.

Drop me an email at gsokolis@sokolisgroup.com. Tell me what questions or concerns you might have and we will do our best to help.

The Sokolis Group is a Fuel Management & Fuel Consulting company. We are experts in helping companies reduce their fuel costs. We achieve our results through our knowledge, contacts and leadership in the fuel industry. We can be reached at www.sokolisgroup.com or (267) 482-6155.

If you don't think you need us, think again? Some of the largest well known companies have used us to manage their fuel program or to at least have us check their program and give it a fine tuning.

Bailout or Bail In

2009-03-01T14:48:00.004-05:00

It's strange as I read the Sunday paper today. 8 total pages of the help wanted ads. Yes, that's right 8. No, I don't live in some area where the population is 1,500 people. This was the Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia is no longer one of the top 5 largest cities in the country but I do believe we are number 6. I think most people read though a fair amount of print has gone to the Internet over the years and we only have one major paper in the area.

I have never, luckily needed a job in my adult life but have always looked at the help wanted section, mostly under drivers. To me the drivers section always told several things, how well is the economy doing: more driver jobs the more the country was growing, since drivers are needed as part of many different industries it always told me if one sector was growing more than another sector. Mostly, I read them to look for leads. See when you do business with mostly companies that use transportation the drivers help wants are a great place to find leads to grow your business.

Now, as a country we are headed down a path to spend $850 billion dollars to get this economy moving. Don't get me wrong, I have my political views and I am a fan of the President. I believe that for years before the Bush #2 years, Clinton era, Bush 1 and even Reagan time we have built toward this time period. Borrow and spend, borrow and spend. The country did it, the American people did it, you might be one of them. Repay debt, that was always thought that it would come later. Everyone needed the new house or new car, you know to keep up with the Jones or Smith's or because you worked hard you deserved it.

As long as that stock market was mostly moving in the right direction we didn't care. We all watched company's try to out do each other, part of the time they did it illegally (Arthur Anderson, World Com, Enron all of these banks now. Car companies making more cars than people need or the right kind of car. You mean we can send a man to the moon 40 years ago and we still can't get a car to be depended on gas? Please.

I look forward that soon, I will pick up that Sunday help wanted section and still not need a job and it will be 30 pages. The economy will be running and we will all be in a better place.

The Sokolis Group is a Fuel Management & Fuel Consulting company that helps companies reduce their cost of fuel, with fuel discounts, fuel rebates, fuel advise, fuel programs they can be reached at www.sokolisgroup.com or (267) 482-6155.

Project Earth

2009-02-27T15:37:00.004-05:00

The Sokolis Group is a fuel management and consulting company with a staff of 9 professionals located in Warrington, PA. As a company we work with small and large companies nationally to help them buy, manage, audit and process their fuel better. Over the last year when fuel prices rose, we helped companies reduce their carbon footprint and how much fuel they consumed.

These methods included:

Having them govern the top speed of their trucks
Truck engine shut down when loading and unloading to reduce idle time
Improving driver behavior
Better maintenance on trucks including tire pressure

While helping other companies reduce their carbon footprint, we realized that we didn’t do a very good job ourselves. On Earth Day we kick off “Go Green 2008 and beyond”. Our steps have been:

Energy Star office equipment
Image storage on computer instead of printing
Printing on both sides of the 100% recycled paper when possible
Recycling paper, plastic, and cans in an office park which do not offer such services
Low flow toilets
Computer screen system shut downs
Energy efficient light bulbs, zoned lighting and temperature set at 78 in the summer months, 66 during the winter
Plants in all offices to provide oxygen and take away the carbons from office equipments, inks, and toners
Purchased carbon credits to offset what a typical office creates in carbon for a year at www.carbonfund.org
Electronic invoicing and receiving all of our bills electronically

As a company, we are not sure how it might separate us from our direct competition. In a world were everyone’s business is cross compared to other industries, we feel we out distance ourselves with what we have done and continue to do everyday.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle.

The Sokolis Group is a Fuel Management & Fuel Consulting Company that helps its clients reduce fuel cost, better fuel discounts, fuel audits and make sure the customer knows the latest information about the fuel market.

Sokolis Group can be reached at www.sokolisgroup.com or (267) 482-6155

Bailout Skepticism

2009-02-12T09:02:00.004-05:00

Oil had been trading near $40 for about two weeks, underpinned by OPEC production cuts. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for about 40 percent of global crude supply, said earlier this week it has completed about 80 percent of 4.2 million barrels per day of output cuts announced since September.

"OPEC is following through, and that's supporting prices," Chu said.
Some crude investors have taken heart from the fact that oil prices have not retested five-year lows of $33 a barrel, hit in December, despite an avalanche of dismal economic and corporate news in the last month.

"Even with the bad news so far, the oil market isn't tanking," Chu said. "It's a signal we could be at a bottom."

A weekly report Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration showed that crude inventories jumped by 4.7 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 6, more than an increase of 3.4 million barrels expected by analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Including last week's build up, crude inventories have swelled by more than 30 million barrels in the past six weeks.

Others feel that there is no reason to think this trend will not continue of oil building, bad economic news in the short term and prices will fall as they have other the past couple of days.
It a matter of public opinion on how well the bailout is going to work that will determine the stock market, oil prices and a lot of other things.

At this point we also continue to believe that short term oil is going to stay below $40 and will touch $29 a barrel. Though refiners are cutting production to help ease the fall in finished product such as diesel and gas, so at the retail level you have not seen the prices going lower.
With so many things going on it’s a good time to focus on your core business. Let a fuel management company help you with lowering your fuel costs, getting you fuel discounts and managing your fuel program.

The Sokolis Group, fuel management & fuel consulting company can do those things forward. With their knowledge and expertise let them work on what they do best and your company work on your core business which is what you do best.
Sokolis Group, fuel management & fuel consulting can be reached at 267-482-6155 or www.sokolisgroup.com for more information on fuel savings, fuel discounts, fuel audits and making you life easier.

Who Needs A J-O-B

2009-02-07T11:23:00.002-05:00

Oil prices remain around $40 a barrel. Oil prices will remain at $40 a barrel or lower for a long period of time, why? Nearly 600,000 jobs were slashed in the United States last month, the most severe cut since December 1974. Let’s not forget that the last 4 months we have had 500,000 job losses in each month. That is a lot of lost jobs. If you don’t have a job, you don’t have any place to go. If you don’t have a job you can’t afford to buy fuel.

As we all know this is going to go away anytime soon. It’s not just the U.S. having this problem. Canada too suffered heavy job losses in January, the worst in over three decades, with 129,000 workers pushed into unemployment, according to data from Statistics Canada.

Europe's largest economy, Germany, saw a massive 4.6 dive in industrial output in December, with steel orders down 47 percent in the fourth quarter, deepening concern over the state of Europe's economy.

OPEC sources have indicated the group could cut a further 1 million bpd from output when it next meets on March 15. They can do that but the reality is we have more oil that we can use around the world right now anyway. Storage tanks are full. Ships are in the ocean with millions of barrels of fuel on them. A barrel is 42 gallons so when they save millions of barrels of oil of oil we are talking about a lot of oil.

Remember, OPEC can make these cuts but their economy depends on oil. If they don’t product oil, then there economy will suffer more than they are today.

Until the U.S. Economy puts the U.S. back on its feet along with the world. Count on low fuel costs.

Even with fuel costs low, there are still ways to save additional money on fuel. A solid fuel management program can reduce your fuel costs by 5-20 cents a gallon. The Sokolis Group a Fuel Management & Fuel Consulting company can make sure you are getting low cost fuel, fuel discounts, fuel rebates to ensure that you are saving on your companies bottom line. Sokolis Group can be reached at 267-482-6155 or http://www.sokolisgroup.com/.

Fuel Has Fallen And It Can't Get Up

2009-02-02T17:17:00.003-05:00

In was another wild day for fuel prices on Monday. Oil prices tumbled nearly 4 percent Monday in a volatile trading day fraught with more bad economic news. Bad news, that is about the only news that we usually get anymore when we talk about the economy.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $1.60 to settle at $40.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after tumbling at one point to $39.83. This down turn in fuel costs mean good things to consumers. Especially since gas prices tumble too.

Gasoline futures had been one of the only commodities on the New York Mercantile Exchange to remain steady last week with some 24,000 refinery workers threatening to strike. Negotiations were extended and workers showed up as usual Monday. Gasoline futures tumbled more than 9 percent. The lower fuel costs and extra fuel in the market will only help a solid fuel management program get better.

The losses came after a U.S. government report showed consumer spending fell for the sixth straight month in December, with 2008 as a whole showing the slimmest growth in spending since 1961.

Grim economic news also dominated Asia and Europe, where Euro zone manufacturing shrank and factory prices tumbled at their fastest rate in at least six years. Not much good news anywhere around the world.

To help your company cope with fuel costs in this difficult economy, Sokolis Group's fuel management & fuel consulting program can help. With prices effecting everything you want a fuel expert who is able to get you fuel discounts, fuel rebates and fuel savings. Reach out to the Sokolis Group to start saving money on your fuel prices today. http://www.sokolisgroup.com/ or 267-482-6155.

Fuel Management for USPS

2009-01-29T17:02:00.002-05:00

To set the stage, we have all time record high unemployment. We have crude oil building every week. OPEC people mad that they are not making money. So in the end what could happen? Who knows?

The U.S. people have gotten very good with their fuel management. It might be due to a change in driving habits from when prices were at record highs or it might be because they have been fired and have no place to go. Data released this morning showed the number of people receiving unemployment benefits has reached an all-time record. The Labor Department reported the number of Americans continuing to claim unemployment insurance for the week ending January 17th was a seasonally adjusted 4.78 million, the highest on record dating back to 1967.

As fuel prices stay the coarse not really going up or down but staying around $40 a barrel for oil. Crude inventories continued their climb last week, rising by a higher-than-expected 6.2 million barrels nationwide, according to government data on Wednesday. This plays back into the hands of good fuel management by the U.S. people and companies or an overall total slow down or stop. I am betting on a little bit of everything.

OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would not hesitate to act again, if the oil price remained low. OPEC next meets on March 15. They have basically said in past reports that they must get $70 a barrel in order for fuel prices to make them money. Is that true? I don’t know. I always found crude oil cheap compared to other items that we buy.

Now today the postal service says it delivered 4.5% less mail during the 12 months ended Sept. 30, a decline of more than 9 billion pieces, Bloomberg reported. That drop combined with high fuel prices added up to a loss of $2.8 billion, greater than expected. This is a prefect demonstration on why a department as big as this should be run by a private company. It’s true that the USPS is not run by the government but certainly the government has its hands all around this program. The Sokolis Group has talked and met with the United States Postal Service about their fuel management and fuel buying practices. People within the organization know they could buy better if it wasn’t for the bureaucracy.

The other question you have to ask the USPS is, have they ever heard of email? Paying bills on-line? Direct deposit, facebook. All of these areas that would reduce the amount of mail that flows through the postal system. They should be prepared for part of that, plus you throw in a slower economy and there you have a $2.8 billion dollar loss. Should they cut back to 5 days a week and no Saturday delivery? Sure, if you’re in business to make money or at least not to loose $2.8 billion dollars, you have to make changes.

Will any of us really miss the mail on Saturday?

To help reduce your fuel prices and provide your fuel savings, reach out to the Sokolis Group for your Fuel Management and Fuel Consulting needs at (267) 482-6155.

Anyone's Guess

2009-01-27T17:42:00.004-05:00

As I watched CNBC today, I saw a friend of mine Joe Petrowski, CEO of Gulf Oil and Cumberland Farms say that he thinks the market could move into the $20 a barrel range with $1.00 gas prices. I like Joe but I don’t know if this market will get much below the high 20 dollar a barrel range. I predicted that it would and it would happen at the end of this week but I might be a few weeks early in my prediction.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in a state radio program yesterday that he is ready to trim crude output further in order to boost oil prices. Despite the strong front that OPEC is putting up, I do not believe for a second that they are staying with their quotes. Listen if these country’s say that can’t make money at $70 a barrel crude under normal product, how can they make money at $40 a barrel and producing less oil? My view is if they are even close to the production cuts they are all on the high side of them.

The EIA data is forecast to show that U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose a further 2.7 million barrels last week, the fifth straight week of gains.

Colder weather is expected to help draw down distillate stockpiles by 800,000 barrels but that is not nearly enough to give the market any boost. Let’s face it, we are in the dead of winter and there should be draws.

Gasoline stockpiles are likely to have risen by 1.3 million barrels.

"Unless OPEC production cuts in January were substantially greater than what we have assumed, it is still too early to be calling an end to this current bear market," Goldman Sachs said in a research note.

Oil's supply/demand picture remains weak, pointing to a large counter-seasonal stock build in the United States and extremely weak demand in China, the world's second largest energy consumer.

So the fuel beat will go on for another day. With EIA Data due out tomorrow and a snowstorm hitting the Northeast, who know what will help. One thing is for sure, it's always interesting.

God Bless America

2009-01-20T16:40:00.001-05:00

As our 44th President of the United States of America is sworn in today, I can’t even imagine what must be going through Barack Obama head. This is only the 44 President in our entire history of the U.S. Think about it for just one moment. Think about the things that have happened in a quick snap shot: several wars and peace keeping missions, electricity, automobiles, stock exchanged was formed, a man to the moon, slavery, computers, indoor plumbing and numerous other events without enough paper to list them all. All under just 44 people who have lead our nation.

Have other Presidents come into power with more problems? I don’t know, I will let historians decide on that but what I will say is the country has over 300 million people today more than any other President has had to govern. We deal in a global economic world, much more extreme than even when JFK was President.

I have become a fan of our new President. The last time I was a fan of a President was Ronald Reagan. He came into office with issues and what people believed to be a lack of experience for the position. Who can have the experience for this position? Who? How would you get it? A textbook? Being the number two person as Vice President? No, I don’t think so, it take a certain special person for this position and to be good at it, a very special person. Reagan had it, Barack Obama has that in my view. Both men had special people skills of communicating. Reagan took our country out of the cold war era, double digit interest rates, high unemployment and now its time for Obama to do it. It will take a little bit of time for him and his Senior Staff to start to make a difference but they will.

Fuel today closed down 4% in light trading today. The March contract for crude oil takes the main contract starting tomorrow.

Tomorrow, wow. Most of us will wake up and do things very similar to what we have done for a long time. Wake up and your last name is Obama and your first name is Barack, it’s a whole new story. The market closed under 8,000 today.

We turn a page in history today and see a whole new future. Only in America.

God Bless America!!

The Sokolis Group will help reduce your fuel related expenses through our management and consulting services.

Sokolis Group can be reached at (267) 482-6155 or www.sokolisgroup.com for fuel management and consulting.

You Heard It Here First For Fuel

2009-01-19T18:11:00.003-05:00

It was just a few weeks ago that we told you that the Gaza war would end before Barack Obama took office. Along those same line we believe Russia would come up with an agreement with the Ukraine. In our view we related these events to the events from 1981 when President Ronald Reagan took over the office from Jimmy Carter. Carter was viewed as weak, the economy was terrible and we had hostages in the Middle East.

Here we are 28 year later and we have similar not exact but similar situation. What was announced today. Russia and Ukraine were aiming to sign an agreement on Monday to restart gas flows to Europe through Ukraine after finally agreeing a price for 2009 supplies. And Gaza's streets brimmed with energy Monday as people picked up the pieces of their lives, while Israeli officials said they planned to pull all troops from the territory by Barack Obama's inauguration as president of the United States on Tuesday.

Of coarse the recession has not gotten any better yet nor does anyone expect it to anytime soon but we have plenty of oil.

The deep contango price trend is encouraging more traders and refiners to
store crude on board ships for up to six months, but a longer term play could be
tricky because of the difficulty to secure loan, maintaining fluid cash flow
and the high financing cost.

The estimated volume of crude oil stored on ships has shot up to as much as
100 million bbl or 50 ships, double the volume seen in early January.

Expect $29 a barrel by the end of the month.

Sokolis Group for all of your fuel management and fuel consulting needs.

www.sokolisgroup.com or call (267) 482-6155

Fuel Bulls or Fuel Bears?

2009-01-18T10:53:00.003-05:00

The market contango is also extraordinarily wide, also provoking covering here," referring to the March NYMEX contract's $6 premium over February. Contango is a state of the market when further months out are higher than current moves. In short most believe that they price will rise as time goes on but will it?

World oil demand will contract sharply in 2009 as the global economic slowdown further erodes consumption, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.
The Paris-based agency joined the ranks of forecasters predicting a fall in global oil demand this year, revising its previous 2009 estimate by 940,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 85.3 million bpd -- a 500,000 bpd year-on-year fall.

The price of a barrel of oil could slump toward $25 and even lower as the economy continues to falter, Phil Roberts, technical analyst from Barclays Capital, told CNBC Friday.

“We're still getting bearish signals, the implication is - this moves not over,” Roberts said. Roberts' near-term view for the oil price is $29, but his “slightly longer-term” outlook is for $25 a barrel or lower.

“In the first quarter of 2009, you're in to the final phase of the down leg in the business cycle. So what we’re looking for is this to slow, the downtrend to slow. Where it's going to stop – best guess would be maybe between $17 and $25 a barrel,” he said. Roberts said he would even be wary of buying at $17 a barrel.

Ok, so predictions are World Oil demand is going to go down. The technical analyst believes short term $29 (which we already, see earlier blogs) but $17 and wary at buying at that, we don’t think so. You might be saying I hear crude is going down but why is gas and diesel going up at the pump? We are over supplied with crude oil; plenty of it in storage so much so several ship that hold millions of barrels of crude are parked out at sea. Oil refiners to help keep the price higher so they can make a profit have been trying to make less gas and diesel. Short term solution to their problem, as crude continues to build because you just can’t turn off the barrels being reduced, we will see gas and diesel make a reverse to a downward trend like we had during the last several weeks of 2008. Diesel the world’s most popular product will continue to see at a premium to gas but we believe that we should see $1.75 to $2.00 a gallon. This is a far cry from the $5.00 diesel customer were paying just 7 months ago.

That leaves me to being over confident. How can anyone that over the last year has seen economies make dramatic turns, oil prices go from record highs to loosing over $110 a barrel fee so sure about what the future long term is going to be. No, I never liked the number 17 much (even growing up as a child, old enough to drive but not old enough to vote) and I certainly would not bet that a barrel of oil will get to $17. Everyone can guess and you can be sure the crazier the guess the more attention the press will give someone.

For all you fuel management and fuel consulting help, reach out to the Sokolis Group. www.sokolisgroup.com.

Economy & Supply Keep Fuel Prices Falling

2009-01-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

The market is over flooded with crude oil as traders are buying crude and putting into storage in hopes that it will be worth more at a later date. Oil tankers are being leased at sea. Storage space for crude became very hard to find at a key delivery point when the January contract expired a few weeks ago as unwanted oil flooded the market. It’s a simple supply and demand issue. Still plenty of supply and not enough demand.

Oil prices tumbled Monday to close at $37.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

As the U.S. enters a corporate earnings season expected to be fraught with bad news, what could happen this week is a look at peak maybe at $29 a barrel? Sokolis Group actually believes that will happen next week. The scenario is Obama gets sworn into office and the fighting stops in Gaza. Earning reports come out, which we all expect to be bad but they are slightly worse. Warmer weather moves into the Northeast and Europe which today is one of the only bullish things happening in the fuel market. Next thing you know we are looking at $29 a barrel. Do you believe? Still plenty of money to be saved in your fuel purchasing when prices are low. Low prices lead to high margins for suppliers. Sokolis Group has the fueling solutions for you.

It's the Economy Stupid

2009-01-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

New week, new action, what are fuel prices going to do this week. The Sokolis Group still believes that there is room for prices to move lower, of course if we were as smart about the fuel market as we are about fuel management the company would be worth tens of millions of dollars. Here is why we believe prices will fall lower. This week oil prices fell as data showing a big rise in U.S. unemployment deepened the gloomy outlook for the world's biggest oil consumer. U.S. employers slashed payrolls by 524,000 in December, driving the national unemployment rate to its highest level in almost 16 years, a government report showed, suggesting the year-long recession was deepening.

As we all pretty much know that much is not going to turn the economy around until at least January 20, 2009. Even then, we need to give our new President and Congress several months to get their agendas together and put in place.
Yes, top exporter Saudi Arabia plans to cut oil output by up to 300,000 barrels per day below its agreed OPEC target, a proactive step to prop up a collapsing market, industry sources said on Sunday. "We've been told Saudi Arabia will cut to about 7.7 million in February," said a senior oil executive. "They want to prevent a huge stock build up and a further decline in the oil price."

As the headline says, it’s the economy stupid. The jobless rate rose to 7.2 percent, the highest since January 1993. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a reduction of 550,000 jobs in December. The rest of the world’s economy is no better than ours because for the most part what we make or buy the world takes or sells. So until our economy starts to move a little, the whole world’s economy will be in this slide.

Now, what happens when all of these billions of dollars of proposed plans and tax cuts kick into place, not only here but across the world? Supercharged economy will be a term people will be using for awhile. Fuel prices will spring back to the $80-$100 a barrel mark, putting gas at $2.75 and diesel around $3.25 but with growth at the rate these packages should generator, we should all be fine. If your thinking about hedging (price insurance) now is not a bad time to buy. Fuel will go a little lower but don’t try to time the market. Just but some caps, kick back and enjoy your fuel budget being under for 2009 and possibly 2010.

Fuel Management

2009-01-07T23:59:00.001-05:00

Just when everyone was starting to worry the fuel prices were headed higher we find out that we have a lot of inventory. Fuel prices plunged across the board Wednesday, giving up a week of gains with unexpectedly large U.S. crude reserves suggesting demand for energy has eroded even further.

Sweet crude for February delivery tumbled 12 percent, or $5.95, to settle at $42.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the report was released.

Crude oil stocks rose by 6.7 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, more than the 900,000-barrel increase analysts had expected.

"We had pretty large builds in all categories. I think it's a confirmation of the weak demand environment. Any time the market sees physical confirmation of that in inventory building, it's just another reason to move lower, and that's what we're seeing right now,'' said Amanda Kurzendoerfer, commodities analyst at Summit Energy in Louisville, Kentucky.

Oil demand in the United States, as well as Europe and Asia, has been eroded by the global economic slowdown.

The bearish data overshadowed the conflict in Gaza, both of which had supported oil prices early in the week.While the Gaza conflict did not directly threaten any oil supplies, unrest in the Middle East can bolster prices because countries in the region pump about a third of the world's oil.

Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Fuel Analyze Can't Decide

2009-01-07T09:00:00.001-05:00

The slide in gas and diesel fuel has slowed down and has actualy started to climb back up recent days amid indicators that the national average could jump to $2 a gallon or higher this spring.

A shift in the psychology in the fuel market seems to be under way. Fuel prices are up more than 40 percent since they bottomed out just below $33 a barrel on Dec. 19. The reversal, after months of declines, suggests that production cuts by the OPEC cartel may be having an effect, along with growing tensions in the Middle East and the sentiment by traders that drops in prices went too far.

The 11-day Israeli air and ground offensive, which has killed about 600 people, has probably added about $10 to the price of oil, said Mark Pervan, senior commodity strategist with ANZ Bank in Melbourne.

"The recent gains have been due to a one-off issue in the Middle East," Pervan said. "Once that calms down, the market could be in for a correction back toward $40."

Oil prices are up about 25 percent in the last week alone, in part because of the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Rising oil prices have helped push the wholesale price of gasoline up by 40 percent since Dec. 24, leading to predictions by energy experts that retail gasoline prices will spike by as much as 25 percent in coming weeks.

"A lot of people are talking about dollar-a-gallon gasoline, when the wholesale market seems to be pointing to $2 a gallon," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. As of Monday, regular gasoline was selling for $1.67 a gallon, on average, up from a recent low of $1.62 on Dec. 30.

The decline in gasoline prices has offered badly needed relief to consumers. A driver buying 50 gallons of gasoline a month has been saving $2 a day compared to a year ago, and $4 a day compared to the price peak in July. For the national economy as a whole, the savings came to around $1 billion a day, according to the Oil Price Information Service.

Analysts say the decline in gasoline use may have bottomed out, barring a further big downturn in the economy."There will be a real spike in gasoline prices coming in the next four to six weeks," predicted Chris Ruppel, an energy analyst at Execution, a brokerage and research firm. "We are witnessing a sea change in energy market sentiment as Americans appear to be returning to some of their old driving habits just as geopolitical risk is once again a factor in crude prices."

Oil prices jumped more than 5 percent on Monday alone to close at $48.81 in New York trading, as fighting continued in the Gaza Strip and Iran's OPEC representative said the cartel would hold a special meeting in February. The cartel decided last month to cut output by 2.2 million barrels, on top of earlier cutbacks.

The AAA auto club reported that the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline on Monday was $1.67, up nearly a penny and a half from the day before. That still compares favorably to the national average of $3.10 a gallon a year ago and the record high national average price of $4.11 last July 17.

In contrast to gasoline, diesel prices have not yet bottomed out. A gallon cost $2.40 on Monday, down a fraction of a penny from the day before.
"In comparison with between roughly a 40 percent drop in the stock market and a 20 percent drop in home values, the drop in gasoline prices is just a drop in the bucket," said Adam J. Robinson, director of commodities at Armored Wolf L.L.C., a hedge fund.
Mr. Robinson said he was unconvinced that oil and gasoline prices would go back up for long. "I think it is too soon to call a bottom in oil or gasoline because demand is falling faster than OPEC is cutting," he said.

"Consistent negative economic data over the coming weeks from the U.S. and elsewhere will likely be enough to water down this positive mood in the market right now," said Pervan, who expects oil to average about $40 a barrel this year.

With several different sides weighing in, its difficult to know where fuel is really going to go. Only time will tell.

Fuel Rises On First Real Trading Day of 2009

2009-01-05T23:00:00.001-05:00

There is no peace in the Middle East. Conflict between Israeli and Gaza continued for its 7th day. Meanwhile Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has cut off gas shipments to Ukraine since Thursday in a dispute over payments, and Ukraine warned that European customers could see serious natural gas disruptions in about two weeks.

A strong performance in U.S. equity markets also boosted bullish sentiment across the complex. The DJIA broke through the 9000 mark for the first time in 3 weeks. Israel's ground offensive in Gaza and a dispute between Ukraine and Russia over gas imports pushed oil prices above $48 a barrel Monday, but some analysts say there's more than just unrest in the Middle East behind the rally. The belief is that the gloom and doom of the economy is leaving the market. I don’t think I would be telling the auto industry that since GM, Ford, Honda and Toyota all reported 30% or better decline in sales for December.

Adding support, the Department of Energy said it would resume filling the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, following the expiration Wednesday of a suspension. The Department plans to fill the reserve this year to its 727 million bbl capacity, which would provide about 70 days of net import protection.

For those of you who just got done reading our monthly newsletter, Oil prices have risen from around $35 a barrel since Israel launched its Gaza offensive Dec. 27, heightening fears for crude supplies from the Middle East. Our article was written before January 1st. We still believe if and it’s a big IF, things can calm down over there we are looking at $40 a barrel crude or less until the next OPEC production cuts or an economy that comes back from the dead and races to 11,000 points quickly.

As we have always said, we do an excellent job managing how our clients buy fuel, negotiating prices, auditing invoices, consolidating back office paper flow, etc. If we knew what the market was going to do from day to day we would have been able to retire a long time ago. Now is not the worst time to think about capping your fuel cost with fuel insurance. You might not be buying it at rock bottom but who knows where the bottom is or if we hit it already.

Fuel Costs to Increase as Taxes will Raise

2009-01-04T17:00:00.001-05:00

A Federal Commission created by Congress to find ways to help build and repair highways and bridges is recommending a 50% increase in gas & diesel fuel taxes. Is this the right thing to do as the economy is in a recession? Can we really afford this as a country? Yes and Yes. I know for some of you that sounds crazy. Let me explain why....

Gas and Diesel Fuel costs are down around $2.50 per gallon from their record highs earlier this year. A 50% increase in gas and diesel amounts to a 10 to 12 cent a gallon increase respectively. Yes, gas and diesel costs will go back up again over time but there has not been an increase to these taxes in well over a decade. We have bridges collapsing, roads under dire repair and we need to build a better infrastructure for the future.

Our belief is that over the next couple of years that tax should increase by 30-40 cents a gallon or more. With the extra money, we can take that money and start to build and widen more roads along with bridges. This puts people to work. Working people help reduce unemployment as well as spend more money on items. This helps stimulate the economy. It also does something else, it keeps people from driving as much. Public transportation, car pooling, scheduling their trips to the same areas to reduce fuel usage. Additionally, if we tax alternative fuels less, it will help make alternative fuel vehicles more favorable for consumers to buy.

Ok, so today instead of going out and buying gas for your car for $1.75 your going to pay $2.05. For diesel fuel users which is how most of our goods are moved in this country your paying $2.80. What do you get for your money? Better roads, less traffic congestion, improved infrastructure. Not bad!

Let us know your views. More to come on the topic on saving on greenhouse gases, wasted fuel and dependence on foreign oil.

Oils Well That Ends Well

2008-12-31T09:50:00.010-05:00

As Fuel flows out of the year into a new year, what a crazy year it has been. Fuel costs shooting through the roof then dropping like a brick. (See Graph below of the last 2 years). What will fuel costs bring next year, is anyones guess. The educated side of us, says that it will remain flat throughout the year just as the economy probably will. Not even hurricanes Gustav and Ike in the Gulf of Mexico in September or the Middle East conflict between Israel and Hamas has been able to stop crude's slide. A sign that the economy has a very strong hold on oil prices.

DOE stats just released aren't regarded as "market moving" with small builds in crude oil and refined products offset partially by a dip in refinery output. Not much to talk about, fuel costs as the year fades away.

Gasoline prices have been more than halved from summer peaks above $4, giving consumers some relief even as millions of people lose jobs and companies freeze hiring. Not even gas prices of $1.35 per gallon in some parts of the country have been enough to spur demand as Americans ride out what could become the worst economic downturn since World War II.

Let's hope next year brings a turn in the economy but without a lot of increased fuel costs. We can all bank some money because this year has been a real blood bath.

HAPPY NEW YEAR. 2009 FUELER UP!

Fuel Costs Falling

2008-12-30T11:24:00.002-05:00

Prices had jumped as much as 12 percent on Monday after Israel launched its fiercest air offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza strip in decades. Hamas sent missiles deep into Israel on Monday, three days into Israel's punishing air offensive in Gaza. Four Israelis, including a soldier, were killed and eight wounded. Palestinian health officials put the three-day death toll in Gaza at 364; the U.N. said the total included at least 62 civilians.
Early Tuesday, Israeli aircraft dropped at least 16 bombs on five Hamas government buildings in a Gaza City complex, destroying them, witnesses said. Israel's defense minister Ehud Barak promised a "war to the bitter end against Hamas" and allied militants.

Oil fell below $39 a barrel on Tuesday, pressured by gloom about prospects for world economic growth which outweighed heightened tensions in the Middle East due to the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

"With most global economies struggling and credit markets still in an impaired state, it is hard to get too excited about the upside potential in energy markets attributable solely to geopolitical factors unless, of course, these are directed at the heart of the oil supply system," said Edward Meir, fuel blipped upward over the past few days because of the fighting. But with the conflict in its fourth day Tuesday, the fuel market refocused on the turmoil roiling economies internationally -- and the negative fallout for oil demand.

Tomorrow's fuel inventory numbers will start to gain more attention from traders as well. Market expectations call for slight builds/increases in product stocks and refinery utilization with a slight decline in crude stocks. In a slow week of fuel trading, fuel costs will rest in inventory numbers.

Fuel Prices Raise

2008-12-29T10:18:00.002-05:00

With Christmas over those on Wall Street need something to get their week jumped started before the New Year.

Israeli air strikes in the Gaza strip have helped replace concerns about flagging demand with fears about a potential supply disruption. Bolstered by U.S. dollar weakness and heightened tensions in the Middle East, the NYMEX futures complex kicked off today's session with across-the-board gains.

It's early in the day so fuel prices could easily come down as they have gone up earlier today. We will see how the rest of the trading day goes to see if we will lower fuel costs.

Fuel Raises but not for long

2008-12-26T16:17:00.003-05:00

Oil prices increased today and low demand after the holiday. Fuel prices will probably go lower next week based on week demand numbers reported by the EIA.

Lower fuel prices have provided the country with an economic stimulus package of around a billion dollars a day since July when fuel prices hit record highs. Who's doesn't like having that extra money in their pocket after the fill up.

OPEC next meeting is planned for January 19 in Kuwait City where we believe they will announce further cuts in oil production. As fuel costs go lower, OPEC nations are not exactly happy. Better our pockets than theirs.

Fuel Costs

2008-12-25T18:59:00.004-05:00

Santa brings $35.35 crude oil prices for Christmas. As oil costs fall for 9 consecutive days. Most oil investors feel that prices will continue to fall into the new year. Lower fuel prices mean a nice Christmas present and a Happy New Year to almost everyone except oil companies.

Most including us believe it just a matter of time before we see twenty something dollars a barrel. Sokolis Group has felt fuel prices would fall to that level since it broke the fifty dollar a barrel level.

Inventories raise and oil prices fall. Fuel costs to trucking companies and everyone else improve daily. Let us know how low you think fuel costs will go? How much does lower fuel costs help your companies fleet. What are you doing to help manage those fuel costs?

Fuel Savings

2008-12-24T09:00:00.002-05:00

Many companies are saving money on their fuel cost not only the fuels have come down but they have taken action to improve fuel saving.

Lower driving speeds
Improved tire care
Reduction in idle time
Better driver education about how to drive

With these simple fuel savings tips, companies improve their bottom line in very difficult times.

Take control of your fuel cost and save money.

How does your company save money on fuel? We would like to here.

Fuel Prices

2008-12-23T09:09:00.001-05:00

Yes, we head into the biggest holiday of the year and the economy is bad. Real bad. Not a day goes by that you don't read about this company laying off 1,000 people or that company laying 5,000 people. Toyota for the first time in its 70 year history is reporting an operating loss.

The good news is we are only paying $1.50 -$1.80 a gallon for gas nationwide and diesel is another 50-75 cents more expensive. Could you imagine what it would be like for you or your company today if you had to fill up and it was $4.059 a gallon for gas or $5.10 a gallon for diesel. Life would be that much worse.

This blog is set up to help provide fuel advice on buying fueling, fuel questions and other fuel related questions. Its mainly for businesses that have fleets of trucks but we will try and field all questions.