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May 11, 2012 NEWS AROUND THE STATE ATTEND THE 2012 ACT EXPO! TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE MEET THE FOLKS AT LIBERTY GAS MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM BELLOMO FUELS POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC THE MARKETPLACE, ALTERNATE ENERGY, SUNOCO SOLD, TOBACCO TAXES, AND MORE… What happens when perceived geopolitical animosities that are halfway around the world fizzle out with a whimper, combined with a 33 million barrel increase in nationwide crude oil inventories over the course of two months? The result is what we’re experiencing today: crude oil prices drop nearly $10 per barrel. At one point a few days ago oil was traded at $95 a barrel before rebounding to close at $97 per barrel. This was the first time in almost three months that oil closed below $100 per barrel. Remember it was only a few weeks ago that crude oil was selling for $110 per barrel. The average rack price has dropped by more than twenty five cents per gallon in the last month. As I drive around the state I have watched the street prices and they are telling me that at least for now many of you are enjoying healthier margins, allowing you to earn back some of the margin you lost trying to stay competitive during the price spike. The opportunity to keep your margin this healthy isn’t likely to last long, so please do your best to maintain it while you can. I know some of you are saying ‘Sal, what are you blind?’ Because you’re unlucky enough to be stuck with some moron competitor down the street who has already dropped his price 20 cents. The lesson here is that despite speculators driving the price of crude oil higher, at some point the real force of supply & demand will ultimately dictate what happens. Demand has remained flat because motorists simply don’t want to pay the higher price. Tensions in Mideast have largely calmed (at least for now). Inventories have built up, so the price has to come down or oil producers will have to drink their oil. You’ve heard me say it before and you’ll always hear me say it: THE BEST REMEDY FOR HIGH GAS PRICES IS HIGH GAS PRICES. It shouldn’t go unnoticed that downward pressure is also applied every time the price at the pump goes up when people start talking about the need for alternative fuels, and then react by purchasing alternatively fueled vehicles. This is why my concern about this subject can never end. Gasoline isn’t going away but you are going to have to learn to deal with and learn to profit off of these new types of vehicles. If you’re concerned how to do that, then continue to pay attention to me because NJGCA is trying to gather information and share it as quickly as possible. I continue to caution repair shops that you are included in this movement towards Alternate Fueled Vehicles too. DO NOT dismiss my message just because you don’t sell gas. Convenience stores…You are included too! Many convenience stores and pharmacies, and shopping malls are already installing electric charging stations. (Remember the pizzeria I wrote about several weeks ago that installed an electric charging station for his customers to charge up FREE while dining at his restaurant?) His customers won’t be buying gas from you anymore! NO NJGCA member is exempt from the transformation that is emerging! We will be hosting a Natural Gas Vehicle Workshop on July 12, 2012 at the National Conference Center in the Holiday Inn of East Windsor. You can view the agenda for the day by clicking HERE and you can register your attendance by clicking HERE. I’ll also be sending you information in the near future about similar seminars and workshops that will cover electric vehicles, hydrogen fueled vehicles, and the expanded use of ethanol. Need further proof the future is coming? It seems every week there is more news about the growth of alternative energies. This week it was reported that 8 car companies (Ford, General Motors, Chrysler-Daimler, Audi, BMW, Porsche and Volkswagen) have come together and agreed on a standardized charging system which they say will harmonize the technology and speed up charging times for electric vehicles. One of the main goals behind this was to make sure that it is easier for owners of electric cars to charge up at any station and likely make further installation of charging stations cheaper. You can read more by clicking HERE. As you may have heard, Sunoco Inc. was recently purchased in a $5.3 billion deal by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP). ETP is a company that traditionally operated natural gas pipelines, but this move transforms them into a national player in the transport of oil and gas. It also gives them around 4,900 retail locations. The question is, how does this affect you? I’ve been saying for the last few years, since we began our efforts to get the Right of First Refusal passed in New Jersey, that one of these days Sunoco dealers should get the same opportunity that dealers from almost every other major chain have gotten: to own their property themselves. My instinct tells me that the new owners of Sunoco, who have little experience in the retail world, will view the economics and the transformation in the industry and will also decide to divest their retail properties. ETP’s CEO even stated that "we would not have targeted a retail business as a strategic move for the company; however, Sunoco’s retail is part of the overall package", which doesn’t exactly sound like he’s very excited about Sunoco retailers and franchisees. Sunoco franchise lessee dealers should start thinking now about the day you can own your own property. Rest assured, I will be watching all developments on this front. Should Sunoco sell of their real estate, then you will understand why I have chastised Sunoco dealers in the past for their lackluster participation when I was trying to pass Right of First Refusal. They left the heavy lifting to the Shell and Exxon dealers ----- while sitting on the sidelines. As you may have heard, the Department of Motor Vehicles had planned on Monday to implement a change in the way driver licenses are issued. The only change to the license itself would have been the presence of a gold star in the top right of the license. The changes were to comply with the federal REAL IDs which require more proof of ID to be shown when applying for a license. The plan was put on hold however on Monday as the result of a court order requested by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU believes these new requirements would make it too hard for illegal aliens to get licenses. Personally, I’m never gonna understand why there are people who want to make it easier for illegal aliens and criminals to exist in our society. Finally, in the Policy Patrol this week is a proposed bill that will affect all of you in the tobacco business. S-1887/A-2772 are sponsored by Senator Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex), Sen. Loretta (D-Bergen), and Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D-Burlington). The goal of this bill is to increase the tax on non-cigarette tobacco products in order to make the tax rate equivalent to what it is per cigarette. Of course as you’re probably well aware, New Jersey has one of the nation’s highest cigarette taxes, at $2.70 per pack or 13.5 cents per individual cigarette. In order to bring other tobacco products in line with the huge taxes on cigarettes, this proposal would triple the tax rate. For moist snuff products it would rise from $0.75 per ounce of net weight to $2.25 per ounce of net weight and increase from 30% to 90% the wholesale tax on all other tobacco products. As we all well know, whenever the government needs more money, there are always politicians who view tobacco as an easy cash cow, and this year is no different. NJCGA will monitor and fight against any attempt by Trenton to try and confiscate any more of your money than they already do. The Manure Pile is taking another week off. Next week there will not be a Road Warrior unless I have something URGENT that has to be reported. Remember I will be in California speaking at the ACT conference (Alternate Clean Technology). I will be moderating a panel titled Integration of Alternative Fuel Refueling Infrastructure Into the Existing Retail Environment
I know it is a long distance, and I am not nuts about traveling, but if any of you are interested in attending….click on this link and follow the directions to register. www.actexpo.com It is not too late…and there are over 1800 people registered already. I will report back to you when I return. This conference should be a good prelude to the workshops that NJGCA is co-sponsoring on Natural Gas, Electric Vehicles, and others. Stay tuned. I’ll see you in two weeks. Thanks for listening – See you next week. Regards,
NEWS AROUND THE STATE 5/8/2012: 5/8/2012: 5/7/2012: 5/7/2012:
Click on the banner above or visit THIS LINK to open a PDF with instructions on how to get your Complimentary passes for the 2012 ACT Expo!
TRAINING CLASSES!! PLEASE NOTE: FUTURE DATES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 973-376-0066 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!
MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE TMP Energy Solutions We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh signing up through our energy saving program. We know it’s difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an “accurate” analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available. This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum KW demand is acquired. By pooling the member’s usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate. Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group. Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision. If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require12 months of your most recent utility bills. There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #’s, meter #’s service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem. The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate. If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Phil Apruzzi at the NJGCA. Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket. We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs. Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund. Contact Phil Apruzzi at 973-376-0066 or email Phil at phil@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members. We defeated BELOW COST SELLING We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law! We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes ...and MUCH MORE!! In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature! If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies. PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO: I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past. We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call. THE MEMBER TOOL BOX |
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