February 2011

• February 28th, 2011
• Jackson Parker

Record High Gas Prices February 2011

Over the past week, the cost to fill up your gas tank has sky-rocketed. Gas prices increased 17 cents a gallon last week, which is a huge increase. Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, said gas prices’ 6-cent jump reported Friday was the largest one-day increase since at least 2008. The national average price for a gallon of regular gas rose, for the 4th day in a row, to 4.6 cents to $3.33 on Friday, according to AAA. That brings the national average to the highest level since October 2008.

Turmoil in the Middle East is largely contributing to the rapidly increasing gas prices. Oil prices shot as high as $103 a barrel on Thursday as chaos in Libya disrupted crude supplies from the OPEC nation, and traders worried instability could spread to other oil-rich countries in the Middle East. The spike in oil last week could translate to an increase in gas prices of 37 cents per gallon in the coming weeks, according Moody’s Analytics economist, Chris Lafakis. He estimates that for every $1 increase in the price of oil, retail gas prices typically rise 2.5 cents a gallon. “This will definitely be the most expensive February gas prices ever,” he said, adding that gas prices are typically lower during the winter months. Many analysts are predicting drivers will see $4-a-gallon gas by summer.

• February 16th, 2011
• Jackson Parker

Diesel prices have gone up for 11 straight weeks for a cumulative 37.2 cent gain, a 70-cent increase from last year. Current diesel prices have already risen 2.1 cents this week to $3.534 per gallon, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). This week’s price is the 20th consecutive week prices have been at $3 per gallon or more. Current diesel prices are at their highest level since peaking at $3.659 during the week of October 13, 2008.

Even though oil prices have decreased slightly in recent weeks, some experts are saying that the price per gallon of diesel and regular gasoline could approach the $4 per gallon level, due to higher global demand for oil and the coldest winter in recorded history in many parts of the United States and Europe.

Fuel typically makes up about one-third of trucking companies’ budgets, said Kristen Monaco, an economics professor who specializes in trucking at California State University, Long Beach. However, when diesel prices get this high, the cost of fuel is the number one expense for trucking companies.

• February 15th, 2011
• Jackson Parker

Next time you or someone you love is about to be transported in an ambulance to the closest hospital, you might want to hop in the back of the vehicle and give the driver directions using your cel phone GPS navigation system. Why? Because many ambulances are not equipped with a GPS navigation system that gives drivers directions. Instead many ambulances are equipped with a GPS tracking system that is only used to keep track of the vehicle’s location, but this type of global positioning system (GPS) is not able to give driving directions.
It is important to recognize the differences in the capabilities of these two types of GPS tracking systems. What this means is that ambulance drivers are still forced to rely on paper maps to get to and from emergency destinations in a hurry. In emergency situations, every minute counts. This isn’t exactly confidence-inspiring and seems a bit archaic.