Gas Prices Having Market Effects?
As gasoline prices keep rising, have we left behind the more frivolous problems and are we now at the point where people’s incentives have changed noticeably? USA Today reports that pump-and-run fuel thefts are rising:
“Our drive-offs are up probably 100%” this year, says Jeff Miller of Norfolk, Va., president of a company that operates 88 gas stations and convenience stores selling gas. “We’re on track to lose about a quarter of a million dollars” in 2005.
Gas retailers lost $234 million to theft in 2004, more than double the amount in 2003, the National Association of Convenience Stores reports. The annual loss averaged $2,141 per store.
As usual, it’s worthwhile going to the source. The NACS PR Kit which appears to be the source of USA Today’s figures prudently includes the following footnote on the trend:
For 2003, gas theft was reported to be $112 million. While theft certainly increased in 2004, the difference in theft over the two years is also attributable to a more accurate measurement of the problem.
Incidentally, I wonder why USA Today reports the NACS’s $2,141 per store figure, but gives a $234 million total as compared to the NACS’s $237 million estimate? In any case, theft does appear to be going up to some extent, and the increase in gas value is at least a logical culprit. (It’d be nicer to have some longer-term historical data to draw conclusions against, though.)
Meanwhile, evidence about whether fuel prices are affecting car-buying decisions is less conclusive. CNN Money quotes several sources which claim that while there appears to be a drop in recent large SUV sales figures, it may have more to do with buyers shifting to other types of vehicles within the “sport” segment. If there is a trend, we’re probably still to close to the cusp of it to see it clearly.