Despite Rising Gas Prices, Pumping Profits is Tough

So you think your local, mom and pop gasoline station is making huge profits off of you this year? Think again. Rising prices essentially causes chaos in mom and pop gas stations. In fact, margins are so slim the big boys are running for the doors. An interesting result is that Walmart and other retail stores are are getting in the business and profiting because the are leveraging the large volume of automobile traffic at their stores. Having conducted polls in the past I have found that most small businesses are not directly impacted by higher gasoline prices. They are indirectly effected by the inflationary pressures that rising fuel prices sometimes cause but suprisingly, to me, rising prices do little to impact most small businesses. - Doug Kersten Despite Rising Gas Prices, Pumping Profits is Tough By THADDEUS HERRICK "Last winter, as crude oil prices surged, pushing up the cost of wholesale gasoline, Sheetz convenience stores faced a dilemma. The Altoona, Pa.-based chain could sharply raise gasoline prices at its 310 retail outlets and likely lose customers. Or it could gradually lift its prices, sometimes selling fuel below cost, in hopes of maintaining customer loyalty. Sheetz opted for the latter, taking a loss on gasoline some days while trying to earn it back on coffee, snacks and other convenience-store items -- goods that can carry margins up to five times as high as those at the pump. "We'll take a lower margin [on gasoline] until we don't have a choice," says Stan Sheetz, the company's chief executive. "No one wants to be the first to raise the price."