Gas prices volatile, but not due to strike

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The Springfield News-Sun will continue to provide unmatched coverage of local companies like Speedway. For this story, the paper spoke to analysts and company officials at Marathon, and reached out to members of the United Steelworkers Union. The paper will continue to cover gas prices and other issues that affect the local economy.

A month-long U.S. refinery strike has spread to Ohio, but analysts said it should have little short-term affect on local gas prices or convenience store chains like Speedway.

The issue is something analysts says they will keep an eye on if the dispute between the United Steelworkers Union International and the refineries continues long-term, said Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst for Gasbuddy.com.

“It could become a point of nervousness for the market the longer this goes on, obviously the bigger situation it becomes,” DeHaan said. “But so far there’s not really an impact at the pump yet.”

Earlier this week, members of the United Steelworkers Local 1-346 demonstrated outside the Marathon Petroleum Corp. offices in Findlay, Ohio, according to information on the group’s Facebook page. The local represents about 900 workers at several facilities including the BP-Husky Refinery in Toledo. Marathon is the parent company of Speedway, a convenience store chain based in Enon.

Members of the steelworkers union could not be reached for comment Thursday. But the organization’s Facebook page estimated 500 people attended the rally in Findlay, as workers sought safer conditions at the facilities. The nationwide strike includes not just Marathon, but other companies as well as refineries in California, Texas, Indiana, Kentucky and Louisiana, DeHaan said.

Marathon officials declined to discuss potential impacts on either Speedway or gas prices, said Stefanie Griffith, a spokeswoman for Marathon.

But the company issued a statement this week arguing the real dispute was over the company’s use of non-union contract workers, not employee safety.

“The primary area of disagreement between the Union and the industry is not related to safety, it is the Union’s requirement that a settlement include a commitment to replace contract workers at their represented refineries with USW members,” the company’s statement said. “Contracting supplemental workers is a means to expand and contract our workforce to meet the cyclical nature of our business in the petroleum industry.”

In the meantime, the industry is using temporary workers to continue production until the refinery strike is over, DeHaan said.

Gas prices are likely to increase over the next two to three weeks regardless of the strike as wholesale prices for gasoline have recently increased nationwide, DeHaan said. Since Feb, 2, wholesale prices have spiked an average of 54 cents per gallon, he said. The steepest increases have been on the West Coast.

He attributed the price rally to several factors, including a seasonal decline in gas inventory, reduced refinery output and an annual shift from winter to summer blends of gasoline.