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Wayne.B

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 13:52:38 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 12:17:48 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 11:14:45 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 07:18:43 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

Virtually all fuel in this area is first delivered by truck from Tampa
which is about 100 miles to the north. That adds around 5 to 10 cents
a gallon.

The funny thing about that is gas is actually 15-20 cents cheaper in
Tampa than it is in South Ft Myers and Tampa is more like 140 miles
north. Then when you go another 15 miles down to Bonita it jumps
another 20 cents. Those last 20 miles must really be tough on the
teamsters. ;-)

===

My youngest son, the ivey league MBA, and I once did a thought
exercise on the economics of setting up a fuel terminal business in
SWFL and barging it in from Tampa. It was clear that the start up
costs would be quite high and the permitting hurdles added both
expense and a fair degree of risk. It would be easier for an
established business like Ballards in FMB but they seem happy just
selling diesel to shrimpers. If I was younger and more
entrepreneurial I might try to buy them out or make a business
proposal.

You are right about the permitting issues.
Do they move refined product by rail? That might also be an option. We
already have a small bulk plant down on Fowler, right next to the
tracks. They also have a lot of space near the terminus at the end of
the line in south Bonita.
.

===

There's no problem moving refined product by rail. It's done all the
time but I'm sure barging it is significantly cheaper. You can also
use the barges as a storage facility and avoid the permitting for a
tank farm. It's not easy to do that by rail even if you have a large
freight yard. Getting a lot of truck traffic in and out of FMB could
be a big issue however. Using barges you could lighter the fuel right
off the tankers in Tampa and avoid some middlemen.

I've seen the terminal on Fowler. It looks relatively small and
lightly used but I don't know why.