Retail Fuel Pricing and Margins
Oil Price Information Service • www.opisnet.com • 888.301.2645
Price Competitively
Monitor Market Share
Evaluate Pricing Strategies
Analyze Markets for Growth
Benchmark Operating Profits
OPIS retail fuel prices are incorporated into a variety
of devices, such as websites, mobile phones, personal
and onboard navigation systems, and customized
widgets. Because OPIS can offer real-time pricing
through these applications, its clients are some of the
largest, well-known companies in their respective fields.
What is OPIS Retail Fuel Data?
OPIS is the leading North American provider of real-time and
historical retail fuel prices and operating margins.
In 1999, OPIS launched the first retail fuel pricing database in North America. With its
unique ability to map retail fuel prices back to wholesale markets, it quickly followed
up with a rack-to-retail margin service. OPIS now receives approximately 2 million
gasoline and diesel prices daily for nearly 140,000 retail outlets across North America.
Fuel players including traditional major brands, regional independents, aggressive
convenience store chains, supermarkets, and big box stores provide OPIS with pricing.
Real-time and historical pricing and margins can be delivered through a variety of ways,
making it easy to incorporate into the simplest or most complex business systems.
Inside ...
Who Uses OPIS Retail Fuel Data and Why?...........................................................1
How Are OPIS Retail Fuel Prices Collected?..........................................................2
How Are OPIS Operating Fuel Margins Calculated?...............................................2
OPIS Retail Fuel Products and Services............................................................. 3-4
Meet the OPIS Retail Fuel Team..............................................................................5
OPIS Retail Fuel Methodology............................................................................ 6-7
Who Uses OPIS Retail Fuel Data and Why?
OPIS retail fuel prices are used by a variety of industries and institutions.
Oil Companies
Navigation Companies
Oil companies rely on OPIS retail data to benchmark
themselves against industry pricing and operating profits.
The information helps to determine locations ripe for
acquisition or divestiture.
Popular personal navigation devices such as Magellan and
TomTom utilize OPIS retail prices to help drivers determine the
best gas price on their route.
Petroleum Retailers
Financial analysts utilize OPIS retail data for tracking
operating margins at publicly traded companies to know the
profit conditions before quarterly calls. In addition, they set
benchmarks for hedging and analyzing how price increases/
decreases at the pump affect other industry sales.
Retailers need to have a solid grasp of the activity in their
market. That’s why they use the OPIS pricing and margin
information to help them set prices at their stations, research
what competitors are moving the market in their area, and
determine if they are under- or over-performing in terms of
rack-to-retail operating profits.
Fleets
Fleets leverage OPIS retail pricing information by benchmarking
drivers’ fuel buying habits versus an established industry
index. By having this data at their disposal, fleets can also
identify the most economical stations for fueling their tanks
and can evaluate whether their cost-plus programs are
successful.
Websites
Popular websites like MapQuest and AAA display OPIS gas
prices that help drive repeat traffic and advertising opportunities.
Mobile Apps
OPIS retail data is an essential element in many mobile
applications. When combined with traffic, weather and other
dynamic content, it gives the user everything they need to
know in the palm of their hand.
Auto Manufacturers
Some leading auto manufacturers install onboard navigation
systems into their vehicles. Many of these navigation
systems incorporate OPIS retail fuel data which allow
consumers to get real-time fuel prices with a push of a
button or voice-activated command.
1
Financial Analysts
Consultants
Consulting companies use the OPIS retail fuel database for
oil company clients and end-users which are affected by
price volatility in the oil industry. They also rely on pricing
and margin data to help clients identify the best location
opportunities and make good branding decisions.
Educational Institutions
Educators integrate OPIS’s retail pricing and operating
margin data in their economic models as well as dissertation
research. Some universities use this data to produce studies
on how fuel prices impact other industry segments.
Government Agencies
State and federal government agencies rely on OPIS retail
data to monitor prices as fuel costs have a huge impact on
tax revenue and the economy. In addition, this data is used to
track whether any below-cost laws are being violated.
Media Outlets
OPIS retail fuel prices are accessed every day by thousands
of media outlets thanks to its relationship with AAA and its
popular website, www.fuelgaugereport.com. By distributing
OPIS data, news organizations are better positioned to
provide guidance on where gas prices are headed.
How Are OPIS Retail Fuel Prices Collected?
OPIS has multiple pricing sources and uses various methods to ensure the most reliable fuel price data.
Sources of Retail Fuel Prices Include:
GasBuddy
Updates From Individual Station Owners
GasBuddy users are passionate about fuel prices! The awardwinning mobile app has been downloaded over 30 million
times and core users update prices regularly to the tune of
80,000 unique stations each day and growing. Quality is topnotch as noted by GasBuddy’s 5-star mobile app rating.
Individual station owners update their station information
and prices through the OPIS Store Manager website —
guaranteeing that their prices are seen by consumers in
navigation and web applications.
Direct Feeds From Leading Chains
OPIS receives credit card transactions through exclusive
relationships with the leading fleet card companies. OPIS
captures most prices in real-time.
Throughout the day many leading chains send OPIS their
current fuel prices to ensure their information is seen as
accurate and up-to-date by consumers.
Transaction Data
How Are OPIS Operating Fuel Margins Calculated?
Retail Price
Less All Taxes
Less Wholesale Price
Less Freight
Gross Profit Margin
5 Key Points About OPIS Retail Operating Margins:
1. Every OPIS retail station is assigned to an OPIS rack
based on proximity.
3. The rack price used is from the same day the retail
transaction occurs.
2. When an OPIS retail station sees a transaction, a net
rack price is subtracted and a margin is then calculated
at the station level. If the retail station is branded, such
as Shell, OPIS uses the Shell branded rack price. If no
Shell branded price exists at the closest rack, then OPIS
uses a branded average.
4. If the station is unbranded, such as Wawa or Sheetz,
OPIS will use an unbranded average.
5. OPIS includes all local, state and federal taxes and
calculates any ethanol credits if applicable, to deliver the
most accurate operating margins available.
2
OPIS Retail Fuel Products and Services
OPIS is the leading U.S. provider of real-time and historical retail fuel prices and margins.
OPIS Retail Radius Report
Get updated retail gas prices and diesel fuel prices for competitors within a 2-mile,
5-mile and 10-mile radius of each of your locations. This service allows you to survey
your competitors’ retail gasoline and diesel prices without ever leaving your office.
Frequency: Real-Time
OPIS Retail Fuel Average Prices and Margins
3
April 25, 201
OPIS has retail gasoline and diesel fuel prices and gross margins for nearly
140,000 stations. This data can be customized for any geographic region.
Frequency: Daily, Weekly, Monthly
OPIS Retail DataHouse
This self-serve web query tool allows you to get historical gasoline and
diesel prices and margins from as far back as January 2007 to as current as
8 days prior to your request. Queries can be run any time of day and results
are delivered in a downloadable format.
Frequency: On Demand
OPIS Retail Fuel Watch Newsletter
This newsletter provides the intelligence you need to accurately and efficiently
grade rack-to-retail profit performance against key competitors in more than
300 markets. Easy-to-read charts, graphs and tables put vital, concise, and
accurate downstream market intelligence at your fingertips.
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25.9
GASOLINE
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in %Profit
Rack Marg
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Net
339.2
346.6
354.4
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334.0
339.1
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12.6
15.3
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411.0
24.3
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10.2
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414.5 357.9
36.6
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320.0
16.4
2/18 368.4
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413.2 356.6 317.4
35.9
327.7 311.4
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26.1
2/25 378.0
9.1%
409.8 353.2
300.0
37.2
326.1
5.9%
313.1
376.3
21.8
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9.6%
406.8 350.3
38.9
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308.3
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19.5
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9 Expert Commentary
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Frequency: Monthly, Quarterly
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Frequency: Annual
This report allows you to see which retail fuel brands are successfully selling the most
gasoline or diesel gallons in any given geographic area. It also includes the average
retail fuel price differential for a particular brand against its competitors.
19.5
19.7
7/2
7/2
3
8/1
3
Packed with pages of intriguing brand details plus market snapshots, heat maps,
national and regional breakdowns, and more, this report delivers a 360-degree
look at the previous year’s retail landscape.
OPIS Retail Market Share Report
30
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OPIS Retail Fuel Products and Services
OPIS is the leading U.S. provider of real-time and historical retail fuel prices and margins.
OPIS Retail Chain Scorecard
Receive weekly average retail fuel prices, rack/wholesale prices
and retail fuel gross margins for each store you operate. BONUS:
This report compares your retail fuel station’s pricing and operating
margins against the average, median and mode retail fuel prices and
margins within a 2- or 5-mile radius of your station’s location.
Frequency: Weekly
OPIS Retail Fuel Prices by Station
Retail Landscape!
n Review
Outlook
9 Annual DOE Statistics
9 Market Comparisons
9 Grade Ratios
9 Plus, Much More
a publication of
0 • Gaithersburg, MD • 20878
Get updated retail fuel prices by station every 25 minutes. This report
is perfect for companies looking for up-to-the-minute retail gasoline
and diesel fuel pricing for large geographic areas such as multiple
states or the entire U.S.
Frequency: Real-Time
OPIS Retail Fuel Stations List
No other source offers a better retail fuel station list than OPIS.
Unlike companies that periodically update station information
through phonebook records, OPIS captures brand changes quickly
because it tracks station changes by its unique price coding system.
Frequency: Daily
OPIS Retail Fuel Prices Widget
Drive traffic to your site with this dynamic widget. It is simple to
use and easy to install with minimal programming on your part.
Customize the size of the frame, colors to match your scheme,
even add your logo.
Frequency: Real-Time
OPIS Truckstop Spread Report
This truckstop fuel price report provides all available on-road diesel
products retail prices for 6,000 truckstops. Also includes available
DEF prices. Reports are by state, interstate or truckstop network.
Frequency: Daily
4
Meet The OPIS Retail Fuel Team
Fred Rozell, Director, Retail Division
Over the past 17 years Fred has developed the OPIS retail
database into the most timely and accurate source of retail
prices and margins in the United States and Canada. He
has won multiple awards for product development and
has built strategic relationships with some of the largest
consumer companies in the country. Fred also created the OPIS margin
index which provides retailers a much needed benchmark to track profit
performance against an industry standard. He earned a B.S in Business
Administration from Monmouth University.
Tom Kloza, Chief Oil Analyst
Tom has analyzed crude oil, refined products, and gas
liquids for nearly four decades. He has written commentary
for Marketwatch and is a regular guest commentator for
Bloomberg Financial Markets and NPR Marketplace. He
has also appeared on CNBC, Nightline, the CBS Morning
Show, and Good Morning America. Tom has commented specifically on
OPEC matters and U.S. gasoline and diesel prices for BBC, CBS, NBC,
CNN, MSNBC, CBS News, and ABC. Tom is one of the founders of OPIS.
Ben Brockwell, Director of Data,
Pricing & Information Services
Ben is considered one of the foremost experts on
petroleum prices and benchmarking. His editorial
prowess covers all markets from how TVAs impact jobber
purchasing strategies to jet fuel prices and supply. Many
of OPIS’s most innovative products and services were created and
developed under his leadership. He’s often called upon to explain market
conditions at top industry meetings. Ben is one of the founders of OPIS.
Brian Norris, Associate Director,
Retail Pricing/Business Development
Brian joined OPIS in 2005 and has worked in a variety
of sales and marketing roles throughout his tenure.
As Associate Director of Retail Pricing and Business
Development, he works to ensure the integrity and
accuracy for OPIS’s real-time prices and margins. He also works on
developing new products and expanding the current product offering
within the OPIS retail group. Brian graduated from Washington College in
2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management.
Jeff James, Operations Manager
Jeff is responsible for the day-to-day support of all OPIS
customers and internal processes and also consults
major clients, business partners and software vendors in
the development and support of the custom data feeds
necessary to meet their industry intelligence requirements.
5
Carolyn Brown, Retail Program Manager
Carolyn is responsible for IT project management
across the OPIS Retail suite of products. She came to
OPIS in 2013 with an extensive background in business
information architecture and analysis. As Director of Data
Management with premier online banking and student loan
service providers, she led her teams to deliver accurate, representative
and timely data solutions to customers. Carolyn graduated from
Towson State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business
Administration and Marketing.
Scott Brandon, Retail Information Specialist
Scott began working with OPIS as a quality control analyst.
From there he moved into a dual role for IT and Quality
Control departments where he now serves as an information
specialist for the Retail team. In 2007 Scott earned his
Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration with
a focus in management from Coastal Carolina University.
John McGuire, Retail Quality Control Manager
John joined OPIS in 2006, where he created and
now manages the Retail Quality Control team. John
is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the OPIS
retail database, providing operational support and
customer service for all OPIS retail related products and
communicating with our clients to assess their needs.
Paul Switzer, Retail Data Analyst
Paul joined OPIS in 2011. Prior to that, he was an Account/
Project Manager for a leading provider of information
technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries.
As a Retail Data Analyst, he works to ensure the accuracy
and integrity of retail data throughout North America. He
also works with clients to help facilitate the use of OPIS’s products. Paul
graduated from Towson University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in
Health Care Management.
Kevin Hummer, Retail Data Analyst
Kevin joined OPIS in 2007. As a Retail Data Analyst, he
works to ensure the accuracy and integrity of data for nearly
140,000 unique stations in the United States and Canada.
He also works with clients to help facilitate the use of OPIS’s
products. Kevin graduated from Appalachian State University
with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice.
OPIS Retail Fuel Methodology
OPIS Retail Gasoline Pricing
Price Discovery – Every day OPIS captures station-specific
retail gasoline and diesel prices for nearly 140,000 service
stations throughout the United States and Canada. Through
exclusive relationships with credit card companies, direct
feeds, and other survey methods, OPIS is able to provide the
most comprehensive and accurate pump prices in the industry.
Data Integrity – To ensure accuracy of the retail prices, OPIS
scrubs the data through a number of computer programs to
make sure the prices are current and are for pump gasoline
purchases only – not for in-store purchases that may include
non-gasoline products.
OPIS gets prices for all major retailers regardless of whether
the station is company-operated, jobber-owned or dealeroperated. Included in the feed are many of the more
aggressive c-stores, such as WAWA, QuikTrip, Maverik and
Sheetz and most of the discount chains and supermarkets,
such as Wal-Mart, HEB and Kroger. In addition, we collect
prices from warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam’s.
Time Stamp – OPIS is able to capture prices in near real-time
– as soon as the swipe or observation occurs. By the end of
the day, nearly 100,000 sites in the U.S. and 6,000 outlets in
Canada have seen at least one price delivered during the day.
Data Integrity – OPIS combines this retail price data
with current rack and tax rate information to calculate the
estimated laid-in costs and operating margins of fuel at
each of the fueling sites included in the OPIS survey. The
OPIS estimated cost figures are recognized as the industry
standard for benchmarking “cost-plus” fuel purchases by
large trucking fleets.
Cost-plus is a method of purchasing fuel at the retail level
where the fleet (buyer) and truckstop (seller) agree to a fixed
margin above the cost of the fuel to the truckstop. This fixed
margin protects both the fleet and the truckstop by ensuring
the cost of fuel to the fleet and the profit to the truckstop is
tied to a legitimate market index.
The following is a list of the diesel fuel products OPIS tracks
and some typical uses for those products:
•
No. 2 ultra-low-sulfur – No. 2 ultra-low-sulfur has a
sulfur content of less than 15 ppm and must be used to
supply at least 80% of the nation’s on-road diesel fuel
sold at the retail level as of October 15, 2006. In addition
to clear No. 2 low-sulfur, OPIS also provides pricing for
red-dye, premium, low emissions and winter grades of
ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuels. All of the OPIS ultra-lowsulfur diesel products are understood to include lubricity.
•
No. 2 low-sulfur – Clear low-sulfur No. 2 diesel has a sulfur
content up to 500 ppm and can be used for up to 20% of
the nation’s on-road diesel fuel sold at the retail level. In
addition to clear No. 2 low-sulfur, OPIS also provides pricing
for red-dye, premium, winter, low emissions diesel and
lubricity grades of low-sulfur diesel fuels.
•
No. 2 high-sulfur – Clear high-sulfur No. 2 diesel is used
as an off-road fuel for equipment such as farm machinery
or as home heating oil.
•
No. 1 low-sulfur – Clear low-sulfur fuel is commonly used
for “blending” on-road fuels. Diesel is blended during
winter months to create a diesel fuel that will not solidify
or gel in colder temperatures.
OPIS Retail Diesel Pricing
Price Discovery – OPIS surveys the current retail prices of
No. 2 low-sulfur and ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel from more
than 8,000 active truckstops and travel plazas in the U.S.
and Canada. Retail prices are gathered by major fuel card
companies including Comdata and EFS as well as through
direct feeds from major truckstop chains.
OPIS reports wholesale fuel prices by products as defined by
EPA standards more so than by any type of product use. For
example, the EPA defines low-sulfur fuels as having a sulfur
content of less than 500 ppm and ultra-low-sulfur diesel as
less than 15 ppm.
6
OPIS’s Retail Fuel Methodology
•
No. 1 high-sulfur – Clear high-sulfur is used for various
off-road agricultural and industrial purposes. Crop drying
ovens is one example.
•
Kerosene – Kerosene has a lower freeze point, lower
flash point and lower pour point.
•
Red-dye – Diesel fuel is dyed red to denote it is being
used for tax-exempt purposes. Entities that are taxexempt (school boards, etc.) use red-dyed fuel. There is
no difference in red-dyed product specifications. Reddyed prices typically are 0.25 to 0.35 cts higher than
clear prices to recoup the charge for the dye and dying
process.
•
Premium diesel – The higher cetane rating is what makes
a regular diesel a premium diesel, along with some type
of detergent package that serves to clean the engine as
the fuel is burned. Cetane is to diesel what octane is to
gasoline. Premium diesel typically has a minimum 45
cetane rating, whereas regular diesel is closer to a 38 to
40 cetane rating.
•
Winter diesel – During the winter months, on-road diesel
fuels may be blended with other diesel fuels or chemical
additives to produce a winter diesel that will not begin
to solidify or gel due to cold temperatures. OPIS also
provides pricing for red-dye, premium, and lubricity
grades of winter diesel fuels.
•
7
Lubricity – Several states have mandated the use of a
lubricity additive in several on-road low-sulfur diesel fuels.
OPIS provides separate pricing displays for low-sulfur
and low-sulfur with lubricity products. Diesel postings
which may include lubricity are low-sulfur, red-dye,
winter and premium diesel products. Since all ultra-lowsulfur products must have a lubricity component, it is
not necessary to maintain a separate lubricity product
grouping within ultra-low-sulfur products.
•
CARB diesel – As of June 1, 2006, all diesel fuel sold
for vehicular use in California must meet a 15 ppm
maximum sulfur limit (ultra-low), in addition to meeting all
of the current low aromatics CARB diesel specifications.
The definition of “vehicular use” in California includes
on-highway vehicles and non-road vehicles such as
agriculture and construction equipment.
•
Low emissions diesel (LED) – Beginning in October
2005, 110 counties East/Central Texas required the use of
LED in both on-road vehicles and in non-road agricultural
and construction equipment. LED diesel must contain
less than 10 percent by volume of aromatic hydrocarbons
and must have a cetane number of 48 or greater.
•
Non-road locomotive marine diesel (NRLM) –
Effective June 1, 2007 for refiners and October 1, 2007
for marketers, U.S. supply points required lower sulfur
diesel for off-road transportation use in locomotives and
for marine use in boats, etc. in various states. NRLM diesel
contains more than 15 ppm sulfur but less than 500 ppm
sulfur and replaced the high-sulfur diesel fuel that exceeds
500 ppm and is still used for home-heating oil purposes
Where it exists, OPIS racks display NRLM diesel simply
as “NRLM.” By 2010, all off-road locomotive and marine
transportation fuel must meet NRLM specs.
Time Stamp
7:30 a.m. 10:00 a.m. Retail diesel price files available
Cost-plus prices are available
The retail diesel prices and the OPIS Gross Contract Average
are used to create these numbers. The data is delivered
Monday through Friday by email, the Internet, FTP and
many third-party vendors.
Time stamps for retail pricing are local to where the station
operates.
“We rely on OPIS to give us quick
access to retail pricing information for
our competitors across the country. It
provides us a benchmark to establish our
daily pump prices at our cardlocks. It’s
considered a valuable tool to ensure our
pricing remains competitive.
”
- Paul Missurelli, Financial Analyst, Jacobus Energy
www.opisnet.com • 888.301.2645