“In general, we make most of our money on car washes and in-store sales,” said Shtayyeh, who owns more than 10 fueling centers in the area, including the Marathon station on the corner of Wilmington Pike and Route 725 in Centerville.
The majority of the money made by local gas station owners does not come from the sale of gasoline itself. On average only 6 to 10 cents of each gallon sold goes directly to the station selling the fuel, said Shtayyeh, who has been in the gasoline business for more than 25 years.
“It would be a benefit for us to see the prices go down. It’s more money in the pockets of consumers,” the gas station owner said. The money people save at the pump often translates to an increase in sales on items such as soda and chips, Shtayyeh added.
Last week, prices dropped from an average of $3.71 a gallon to $3.46. By Friday, however, prices were creeping back up.
The decrease at the pump is a result of market volatility and speculation on Wall Street about the future of the U.S. economy, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com.
While some stations see an increase in income, independent gas station owners are not able to capitalize on lower fuel prices, according to Habib Shah, marketing director for the Independent Gas Station Owner’s Association.
IGSOA is a division of the Ohio Petroleum Organization, and helps to consult and manage retail operations for independent gas stations across Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Indiana.
Shah said it’s a guessing game when the best time to purchase gasoline as an independent owner is.
“It’s not easy to compete with the larger stations,” said Shah. “We have to pay double the tax, because we don’t have contracts with larger companies. Places like Speedway only pay once.”
Independent station owners only make five to seven cents per gallon sold at their stations, according to Shah.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2353 or Asimon@DaytonDailyNews.com.
About the Author