₦airaland Forum

Chris Bambury’s family has been selling gas in Sonoma Valley, California, for more than 100 years, but never at prices like this.

The price at his two stations was $6.29 for a gallon of regular gas last week, which is actually cheap for his part of California — AAA put the average price in his county at $6.36.

Gas station owners are struggling with rising gas prices just as much as their customers. The overwhelming majority of gas stations are small businesses — not the big oil companies whose brands they sell — and the rise in the wholesale gas price they pay has cut deeply into their already thin profit margins.

Wholesale gas prices aren’t the only rising cost putting the squeeze on station owners. Credit card fees and delivery charges for fuel are both higher than earlier this year. Labor costs are still up from the last gas spike in 2022.

Bambury’s great-grandfather, August Bonneau, started selling gas back in 1922, before there were even paved roads in his part of California. Bambury started in the family business as a teenager doing entry-level jobs — such as pumping gas and cleaning bathrooms. Today, he has 37 employees between the two stores and a third location that doesn’t sell gas.

However, to remember a time when gas was a lot cheaper, Bambury only has to think back to before the war in Iran started in late February. He was selling gas for $4.79.

“We don’t want to move up (prices too fast) and drive customers away,” he said. “We always prefer prices to be lower. The market thrives better. Our customers are happier.”

But for the most part, customers haven’t blamed him or his staff for the prices.

“They hear all about the war and the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

But as much as he wants to keep prices low, Bambury needs to make at least a profit on gas sales.

“We can’t survive losing on fuel (sales),” he said.


Across the country, another gas station owner told CNN he is considering shutting down his fuel sales.

Harry Singh has owned a gas station in Nutley, New Jersey, since 2009, but now he’s thinking of closing up and just keeping open the attached car repair garage.

“If (prices) stay like this another two or three months, I’m going to start losing money (on fuel sales),” he said.

While his station sells below the local market price, he said he is losing customers to a nearby Costco that sells gas for even cheaper. Even his regular customers aren’t buying as much as before the Iran war.

“They used to fill it up, now they say give me $20, $30,” he said.

The average gap between wholesale and retail prices is about 22 cents a gallon, according to Jeff Lenard, spokesperson for the National Association for Convenience Stores. Those stores sell about 80% of fuel nationwide.

That might sound healthy, but that 22 cents have to cover all the other costs, so a station owner is only likely to break-even, Lenard said. The average gross margin over the last five years was 38.3 cents a gallon.

christejames:
This is America's business not Nigeria's... We have more drastic ones here

Kobicove:
Anyone who is running a petrol station here in Nigeria is also having the same problems they are having right now due to the war in the middleeast

Chetas81:
the country with cruid oil, how is it become problem?

christejames:
This is America's business not Nigeria's... We have more drastic ones here

Chetas81:
the country with cruid oil, how is it become problem?

Authoreety:
E no suppose concern Nigeria... We have the crude and we have the refinery


America is in direct conflict with Iran. So na dem know wetin dem put hand

Ironfaceman:
The way trump talks one will think only Iran is suffering from this senseless war.

At 6 dollar that means cost of food and sundries will go up.

Workers can no longer save and vacationing is out of the question.

Well,, mid term elections are approaching and time for Americans to decide whether they want to buy gas at 10 dollar

Or go back to to a cheaper price.

MrSly:
Little wonder this made it to front page, aimed at maligning the US president and at the same selling their properties and gold to relocate to the US.

christejames:
This is America's business not Nigeria's... We have more drastic ones here

Cum4me:
Watin concerns Nigeria with this. Una go just go online copy nonsense and paste like APC government no direction