For truck driver Kenneth Bull, the most important price on the Royal Farms sign wasn't the $1.97 gas but the $2.77 diesel. He said he was paying as much as $4.85 last summer to fill the 250-gallon tank on his 2001 Peterbilt.
"I just scraped by somehow," he said, by scrimping on spending at home and changing his driving habits to make sure he always took the shortest route from Point A to Point B. Though prices are lower, he said he hasn't returned to his old ways because business is "still hurting."
Heating oil prices have also fallen in recent weeks as winter approaches. The average price nationally of residential heating oil dropped to $2.99 a gallon last week, compared with $3.66 a gallon early in October, according to the Energy Information Administration, which collects data during the October-to-March heating season.
Wholesale prices nationally fell to $1.82 a gallon yesterday, down from $2.21 a gallon a month ago, according to Bloomberg News. But it may be a while before consumers see home-energy savings. Baltimore Gas and Electric and other utilities have already bought much of their energy for the coming year. Many heating-oil customers have filled up for the winter or signed deals at higher prices.
Peter Horrigan, president of the Mid-Atlantic Distributors' Association, which represents heating oil and gasoline dealers in Maryland, Delaware and Washington, said heating oil costs have not fallen as rapidly as retail gasoline prices because of slower inventory turnover.
Many heating oil companies offer customers different payment programs to help them save money. Horrigan said some offer cap programs, which set a maximum rate that consumers will pay. So when prices fall, customers will pay the lower price.
"Anyone who got into a cap program, they're doing fine," said Glenna Kinney, distillate and propane general manager at Tevis Oil in Westminster. "They're enjoying what the markets are doing right now."
Customers on fixed-price plans, which freeze the rate for a period of time, may not see the benefits of falling prices. Spot prices have fallen so far, however, that it might make sense for heating-oil or natural-gas customers to pay termination charges of $50 or so and shop around for better deals.
Tevis Oil provides heating oil to residential and commercial customers, though Kinney declined to disclose the number of customers it serves or its prices for competitive reasons.
