Costco Gases In The United States: A Case Study

As the prices of fuel increase nationwide, it isn’t only the local residents that feel the pinch of higher fuel prices. Those responsible for fueling ambulances, fire engines, and police cars are also battling the soaring transportation costs.

On Monday October 31st, 2016, a pipeline exploded and shutdown the flow of gasoline and diesel on the East Coast which could effect pump prices for a couple of weeks. The explosion took place near the site of a gas spill that happened back in September that caused supply shortages and also an increase of prices in the Southeast. The Colonial Pipeline was forced to shutdown both of their mainlines. The New York Harbor’s gasoline soared from anywhere from 15% up to $1.64 a gallon. A little before 3 pm, the explosion occurred. Gasoline was lit and set off a huge fire that was not controlled and it continued to burn for almost the rest of the evening. Anyone who drives should expect price increases. The fire and emergency persons allowed the fire

Diesel fuel prices also vary wildly depending on the season, region, and even individual fuel retailer, sometimes going for less than regular gasoline and sometimes going for more than premium.

The retailer's price increase to the final consumer is between 4 and 8 cents a gallon, meaning that there is little option for the consumer to shop on price. Further, consolidation has been active in oil as in other industries. A different brand name does not signify that the gasoline is being sold by

What is Costco’s business model? Is the company’s business model appealing? Why or why not?

California since the gold rush has been known as the “Golden State” where it’s flooded with multicultural richness from the beaches to the mountains. California today is the most densely populated state with 38.8 million residents and is still rising, however, not only is the population ever increasing so are gas prices. Allysia Finley an editorial writer from The Wall Street Journal states, “The national average is $2.76 a gallon, while the Golden State drivers pay $3.88. Eco-virtue is expensive” (Finley 1). Gas prices in California has left an effect of overpriced due to many contributing factors: regulation over the environment, overconsumption, and how rational people think at the margin.

Gas prices have been showing an increasing trend for the last few years. This increase has largely affected all the sectors of the economy. The segments of the society which have taken the biggest negative impact of increasing gas prices are the households and businesses (Davidson). This paper focuses on discussing the most significant impacts of gas prices on the economy at the Jersey Shore in the light of recent trends and research studies.

The state adopted a new regulation on the quality of fuel, thus raising prices of production of the good. Among other things a great amount of additional environmental guidelines have all contributed to sky-high prices. As a result in 2006 gas was 23 cents higher in the state of California than the national average. Other control within the government has contributed to the shut down of many small refineries in the state only 14 refineries remain. Since there are so few refineries in the state, an issue at one refinery will significantly affect the gas

California is the third largest in fuel consumption on earth, behind the U.S. and all of China, and with this demand needing to be met and a diminishing supply of fossil fuels, comes the rise of a new revolution, natural gas. With the start of the industrial revolution came the beginning of the use of fossil fuels. Thus, making the United States overly dependent on a limited resource that was also harming our environment. Over the past few decade, nations around the world have realized that the finite amount of fossil fuels is coming to an end, and our need for alternative fuel and energy sources is growing. We have experimented with different types of resources, one of them being natural gas. Natural gas has been a

Gasoline continues to show an inferiority to diesel fuel in every category except for price, or so it seems. The average price of gasoline as of now is under two dollars for the first time in 6 years. (Energy, 2016) Gasoline usually is about 15-25 cents per gallon cheaper than diesel. For large trucks with a 30 gallon tank, this can be a large difference in price that naturally make people wary of purchasing a diesel vehicle. And with this natural disinclination towards diesel fuel, the world has shied away

Natural gas emits over 25% less carbon dioxide than oil and over 40% less than coal, It is also cheaper to use than oil and gasoline. Furthermore, natural gas produces 60% to 90% less smog-inducing pollutants than oil, gas and coal, consequently, acid rain will be less frequent and less damage is done to the ozone layer. Natural gas is also less flammable than gasoline, making it safer when transported or stored (Stephenson (2010) (page 55-56)).

The cannabis plant (marijuana) has been used medicinally by a variety of cultures around the world. It was used as medicine in the United States until when a new tax fee led to its discontinued use. Congress has voted on several bills to legalize the medical use of marijuana; however none of those bills were passed. In June 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that federal laws against marijuana, including its medical use, are valid. The government has authorized few research studies into the health effects of medical marijuana.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved

Frist of all, drive throughs can lead to a waste of a lot of gas. According to Trapped in the Drive-Through and Wasting Gas, "In 2007, a California state science fair student estimated that vehicles idling at California’s 8,500 drive-through businesses consumed 32 million gallons of gas." This shows instead of wasting your gas on meaningful cause we chose to waste it on drive throughs. Also, it states "Just 10 minutes of idling at the drive-thru window per day adds up to an average of 22 gallons of gasoline a year — at current pump prices. That’s $80 a year on wasted gas." This shows that instead of wasting gas by driving ten minutes on the interstate people decide to sit in drive throughs and basically throw money out the

A Business week article makes an interesting statement that Costco belongs to the very short list of companies with a culture so favorable to employees that it gives the company a competitive advantage, and it’s most likely to keep on rising over many decades. Costco sees workers as an asset to invest in, rather than a cost that must be reduced. In the U.S. Costco pays workers an average of nearly $21 per hour, almost three times the minimum wage and about twice as much of what most competitors pay. They receive great benefits and are part of a safe and healthy working environment as well. At Costco they are committed to providing its employees with opportunities for personal and career growth. Costco has implemented a strategy for a competitive advantage by having a mix of low-cost providers and differentiation. Company differentiates itself by providing consumers with products in bulk at a low per unit cost. Costco offering two types of memberships- the regular and executive membership. With an executive membership, Costco gives a 2% reward on annual Costco purchases. A holder of the executive membership receives incentives for shopping there, which leads to more sales and higher customer visits. This is just one of the many reasons customers keep going back to Costco. It has made itself a highly successful company by offering quality products and excellent customer service.

Central Idea: Gas prices are on the rise in the US recently because of three major factors: the price of crude oil, the increase in internal regulations, and the increased demand for the gas.