Just 24 months ago, anyone who wanted a frontline, hourly worker’s job only needed a pulse to get hired. Now, we are faced with staggering unemployment, massive underemployment and tremendous job dissatisfaction. A new report releases from The Conference Board found that just 45% of workers in the U.S. were satisfied with their jobs, the [...]
By Brian L. Milne, Refined Fuels Editor, Telvent DTN Wholesale gasoline prices moved higher in metropolitan markets across the U.S., which will reverse the trend in retail prices since the middle of May from down to up. Broad-based economic data underpinned the higher wholesale prices, which continue to climb during the first day of summer. [...]
A week ahead of The Panty Inc.’s scheduled quarterly earnings report, Analyst Mark Miller of William Blair & Co. increased his rating of the company, sending shares skyrocketing. Shares of The Pantry rose Thursday from $1.12 to $16.45 -the highest level since October and a 31% increase this month after Miller raised his rating of the [...]
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. is testing a new method of delivering beverages to 7-Eleven stores in Southern California, using Costco Wholesale Corp. as an intermediary, Reuters reported. Currently, under Coke’s direct-store delivery model, beverages are sent from the bottling facility to a warehouse and then to a distribution center, which distributes the drinks to individual stores. [...]
By Brian L. Milne, Refined Fuels Editor, Telvent DTN Retail gasoline prices are poised for sharp increases across the country in early April following big gains in the wholesale market right in front of the Easter holiday, which follows mostly flat to lower prices at many local stations in late March. Driving the advance in [...]
Resilient, tough and tested. These are just a few of the words analysts and retailers alike used to describe the convenience store and petroleum industry over the past 12 months. With the economy suffering its most difficult period in some 80 years, convenience stores held up rather admirably considering how consumer confidence plunged and the [...]
When history looks back on 2009 it will not be generous. The U.S. economy was, and to a certain degree, remains locked in the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. Unemployment is high and the value of the dollar and consumer spending are at near-record lows. While this is bad, it could have been [...]
General Motors Co’s (GM) growing output of vehicles that can run on ethanol-gasoline blends won’t help cut polluting emissions or U.S. dependence on foreign oil until more stations begin dispensing ethanol, according to GM Vice Chairman Tom Stephens, Reuters reported. Half of GM’s vehicle lineup will be able to run on a mix of 15% [...]
Brian L. Milne, Refined Fuels Editor, Telvent DTN Weekly gains in the gasoline wholesale market driven by higher crude costs leading up to the Valentine’s Day weekend will interrupt the national decline in retail gasoline prices midway through February. The U.S. average price for retail gasoline prices had decreased for four consecutive weeks through the [...]
Whether you operate a large or small chain, there are deals to be made that can attract a lot of positive attention to your company. I know some of you don’t place much of a value on publicity, but when was the last time you priced the cost of a retail ad in the local [...]
By Brian L. Milne, Refined Fuels Editor, Telvent DTN The first week in February saw the most price volatility in the wholesale gasoline market since late September 2009 when crude oil started its march higher into October and pulled fuel prices up too, with wild price swings triggered during periods of market uncertainty. Interestingly though, [...]
The average price of regular gasoline at U.S. filling stations declined to $2.67 a gallon as gasoline futures plunged and demand weakened, Bloomberg reported. Gasoline lost 5.8 cents in the two weeks ended Feb. 5, according to a survey ending on the same day of 5,000 filling stations nationwide by Trilby Lundberg, an independent gasoline [...]
By Brian Milne, Refined Fuels Editor, Telvent DTN Gasoline costs in metropolitan wholesale markets across the U.S. are posting between a nickel and dime declines to start February compared with week prior pricing, as the market continues to slump after financially traded gasoline contracts spiked to a 15-month high in early January. The early year [...]
If you’re not doing foodservice, consider this your call to action. As the economic downturn eases, the restaurant industry will see a gradual improvement in 2010, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2010 Restaurant Industry Forecast. Industry sales are expected to reach $580 billion this year, up 2.5% in current dollars over 2009. But that’s [...]
Now that customers are used to finding fresh food at their local c- stores the pressure is on the roller grill to maintain its share of foodservice sales. Thanks to the innovation of retailers and suppliers alike, the roller grill continues to turn out strong sales. Chains are bundling meals with fountain drinks and chips [...]