owner operators over the road: is the lower fuel prices helping you out

fuel tax has nothing to do with the pump price...... you pay the same tax if it's $2 a gl. or if it's $5. a gl.

 

some states have % taxes (9+% for California)

 

Whats happening now with the fuel going down, the states and the Feds are adding taxes, so you wont see them until the fuel prices go back up. Then we all wonder why is this so HIGH

 

Maybe. But oil prices are still a bit above historical inflation-adjusted norms (~$42/barrel in today's dollars):

 

no i'm making less money

 

With lower prices people are filling up more often. We've been a lot busier at work, which is good for me. I've been running a lot more loads because of the higher sales.

 

For the most part you are correct, but this isn't a hiccup or a burp ... it's a well planned Saudi scheme to run American oil companies in the ground by making it totally unprofitable for removing oil from shale and fracking, thus ending American energy independence. It costs somewhere around $60/barrel for us to remove oil from shale ... as long as the price was in the $80 to $100/barrel range we were lookin' good, but with prices where they are today, these companies will quickly become insolvent and operations will cease and we will start importing oil again and then Saudi will increase the prices again.

 

Then there is the major move by Shell and Chevron into making fuels from natural gas. As of 2013, 400,000 barrels of diesel a day were made from natural gas GTL technology. And you have a host of other goodies being made from NG. That is also putting some leverage on worldwide oil and fuel prices moving lower. One thing for certain, it is all a good thing for everyone, whatever the sources. Shell is working on putting a new NG to fuel plant in Louisiana in the future. And it shows the creativity of folks to find ways to get around all the government nonsense. The Saudis may indeed have some form of game they are playing, but with the amount of diversity in fuel and oil production, it doesn't near have the effect as, say, the 1973 oil embargo did. Of course, gooberment will find a way to mess things up if they can. The Saudis ought to be a little more cautious nowadays. Russia was making it hand over fist when oil was higher, as they are a major exporter. Now they are crying foul. Iran and others are not too pleased that the Saudis have opened the spigots more. Very dangerous game on the Saudi's part.

 

OK, fuel tax lesson 101 . . . . . . many Gov't agencies, State & local get a % of fuel price, it is not fixed. Hence we are hearing the ######## and moaning because tax income from fuel sales is in the toilet.