Descriptive Statistics Gasoline Prices
University of Phoenix
RES 341
August 21, 2006

Descriptive Statistics Gasoline Price Gasoline is the main product refined from crude oil, it accounts for about 17% of the energy consumed in the United States. The primary use for gasoline is in automobiles and light trucks. Gasoline also fuels boats, recreational vehicles, and various farms and other equipment. While gasoline is produced year-round, extra volumes are made in time for the summer driving season. Gasoline is delivered from oil refineries mainly through pipelines to a massive distribution chain and from there to service station across the country. (Department of Energy, 2006). While the price of gasoline continues to rise, one of the questions on the minds of the consumer pertains to the components that determine the price per gallon of gasoline. Included in the cost per gallon is the cost of crude oil to refiners, refinery processing costs, marketing and distribution costs, and finally the retail station costs and taxes (See figure 1). The prices paid by consumers at the pump reflect these costs as well as the profits (and sometimes losses) of refiners, marketers, distributors, and retail station owners (Department of Energy, 2006).

Figure 1

[pic] The Gasoline price issue has always occupied an important part in any discussion and in any plan of government. As we stated in our first group assignment, gasoline is the bloodline that keeps America moving (See Figure 2). Our personal vehicles alone guzzle 65 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel each year, and that number is projected to increase by 2.6 percent each year (Bonsor & Grabianowski 2006).

Figure 2

[pic]
International and Domestic Demand for Gasoline Demand for Gasoline: We use the definition of Demand provided by the EIA, which is”The sum of all