Skip to main content

On a three-week road trip, and the price of gas

I just spent three weeks on vacation, and drove 4,100 miles round-trip from Austin, TX to Traverse City, MI, with side trips to Ann Arbor and Petoskey.

Petoskey, Michigan
I drove through Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. As the trip progressed, I paid increasingly higher prices for gasoline, from about $2.15 in Texas and Oklahoma, to $2.50 in Illinois, and $2.60 to $2.75 in Michigan.

There are three factors that drive the price of gasoline at the pump: The price of oil, the amount of taxes per gallon, and the distance from refineries.

As you'd expect, Texas and Oklahoma have lower gas taxes (by as much as 50%) and are much closer to refineries, driving down the cost of transportation.

What I find interesting -- though everyone likes to complain about the high price of gasoline at the pump -- is that gas is not that expensive, if you factor in inflation. In 1968, while I was in high school, I could buy gas for 30 cents a gallon. If you factor in inflation, that is $2.21 per gallon in today's dollars. See Inflation Calculator.


Some more information on gas prices and energy markets:

IEA Cuts Crude Demand Growth Forecast as Supply Continues Outpacing Demand
Pump Prices are a Treat for Majority of Motorists
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for the comment. Will get back to you as soon as convenient, if necessary.

Popular posts from this blog

California: A Model for the Rest of the Country, Part 2

Part 1 here . On Leaving the Golden State Guest Post by NicklethroweR . Posted on the Burning Platform. The fabled Ventura Highway is all that separates my artist loft from the beach where surfing first came to the United States. Both my balcony and front patio face the freeway at about eye level and I could easily smack a tennis ball right on to the ever busy 101. Access to the beach and boardwalk is very important to a Tourist Town such as mine and I can see one underpass from my balcony and another underpass from the patio. Further up the street are two pedestrian bridges. Both have been recently remodeled so that people can not use it to kill themselves by leaping down into traffic. The traffic, just like the spice, must flow and the elites that live here do not like to be inconvenienced as they dart about between Malibu and Santa Barbara. Another feature of living where I live would have to be the homeless, the insane and the drug addicts that wander this particular...
Post a Comment
Read more

Proper way to calculate CAGR using T-Sql for SQL Server

After reading (and attempting the solutions offered in some) several articles about SQL and CAGR,  I have reached the conclusion that none of them would stand testing in a real-world environment. For one thing, the SQL queries offered as examples are overly complex or don't use the correct math for calculating proper CAGR. Since most DBAs don't have an MBA or Finance degree, let me help.  The correct equation for calculating Compound Annual Growth Rate (as a percentage) is:  Some key points about CAGR:  The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is one of the most accurate ways to calculate and determine returns for anything that can rise or fall in value over time. Investors can compare the CAGR of two alternatives to evaluate how well one stock performed against other stocks in a peer group or a market index. The CAGR does not reflect investment risk. You can read a full article about CAGR  here .  To calculate the CAGR for an investment in a language like ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trading / Investing Tips

Fundamentals tell you what to buy. Technicals tell you when to buy. Stick to your system of entry and stops religiously. Use stops and stick to them. When euphoria kicks in, that’s usually a local top. Much of the trading-related news & social media troll boxes are noise. Ignore them. Trades should end in 3 ways: Big Win, Small Win, Small Loss Repeat after me. “The trend is my friend.” Don’t scalp the counter-trend. Keep a trading journal. Determine flaws. Eliminate them. If you open a trade based on a high time-frame signal, don’t self-sabotage and close that trade based on a much lower time-frame signal. Good sleep, proper diet & exercise are just as important for trading as they are for most things in life. Don’t get chopped up trying to trade/scalp sideways price. Expect consolidation after large price movements, not continued volatility. All indicators are using the left side of the chart to try and predict the right side of the chart. Chart the exchange wit...
Post a Comment
Read more