With head splitting speeds the price for oil this past year has gone from $33 a barrel in early January of 2009 to tipping the $78 mark these few days. Having such a fluctuation in fuel can make any fuel management team dizzy. Many factors had contributed to the ups and downs of the fleet fuel world and a main one was the crude oil inventories. Crude oil saw a minimal decrease in September, while the rest of the year saw supplies increase to 375.83 million barrels at one point.
A few contributing factors to an over abundance of supply included less traveling, low demand from consumers, online shopping and high unemployment. Consumers put in place their own fuel management programs it seems. Online shopping replaced the trip to the fuel pump for many during this holiday season. There was less travel throughout the 2009 year and that includes plane and automobile traveling. According to AAA travel will decline 2.1% this year from last. Unemployment led to a decrease on the roads as well. Fuel management was on the minds of all as the economy struggled to recover. Inventories were in such a mass that the floating storage of crude oil that at the end of January 2009 approximately 80 million barrels were a float. Refineries have even slowed production to decrease the supply. Crude oil inventories are expected to drop as cold winter weather hits parts of the U.S. and as the unemployment rate drops, down to 10% in November, not great but it wasn’t an increase. This is a true example of a cohesive relationship. Consumers will still rely on oil and oil will rely on the demand of consumers, the obstacle is fuel management. How can the consumers rely comfortably on oil without breaking the bank? Sokolis will be on your side to always find the best fleet fuel card, fueling locations or fuel management program.
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