Fueling your vehicle is getting more expensive these days. Gas prices have steadily been rising since December. Gas prices are expected to keep rising due to two primary reasons:
1) The cost of oil is expected to increase due to political upheaval in the Middle East, particularly Egypt and Tunisia. Egypt is not a major oil-producing country, but about 2 million barrels of oil pass daily through the Suez Canal, which is controlled by Egypt. The outcome of the political turmoil in Egypt will certainly have an effect on gas prices. The situation may end quickly or the uprising may spread, no one knows at this point.
2) Historically this time of year gas prices go up and stay up through summer. Typically in March oil and gas refineries start switching to more expensive spring/summer gasoline blends, an annual occurrence that routinely drives up gas prices. Spring/summer travel trends also increase the demand for gas which drives up gas prices.
Gas Prices are Rising…
The average retail gas price in Sacramento rose just 0.4 cents to $3.31 a gallon over the last week, according to the weekly report released Monday by SactoGasPrices.com, a GasBuddy.com website. The local price was 40.6 cents per gallon higher than it was one year ago and 4.9 cents higher than last month.
According to data from AAA Chicago, that is 15 cents a gallon higher than a month ago and 70 cents more than at this time last year.
When gas prices are rising, investing in a fleet tracking system makes more sense than ever. A GPS-based fleet management system can help your company save time, money and and fuel. A GPS fleet tracking system can significantly reduce fuel expenses. Lower fleet fuel bills equal higher net profits.
For a fleet of 25 vehicles, idling time reduced by only 15 minutes per day can result in fuel savings of 562.5 gallons at a cost of about $1,778 per year at current gas prices. If you reduce idling time by 60 minutes, it would result in a fuel savings of 2,250 gallons at a cost of over $6,000 per year!