DeliveryONE Take-Aways

The 8^th Annual DeliveryONE Expo & Seminar wraps up today, after a great time of education and networking in Denver, Colorado. The DeliveryONE Network, organized by Mansfield Energy, is a network of fuel and DEF distribution companies working together to bring customers exceptional, coast-to-coast service of all fuel-related products. With over 350 attendees representing hundreds of distribution companies, the Expo brought together some of the brightest minds in the industry, helping partners share best-practices and reduce costs for our collective customers.

We had numerous speakers share insights with attendees. If you weren’t able to attend, we’re sorry that you couldn’t make it, but we’re excited to share some of the key excerpts from the sessions this year.

The Reality of Fuels’ Future

John Eichberger, Executive Director of the Fuels Institute

What is the future of transportation? You’ve probably heard headlines that electric vehicles and CNG are stealing petroleum’s market share. It’s certainly true that these new vehicles are causing waves in the market, but the actual market impacts may not be as severe as you think. As John Eichberger shared, If EVERY vehicle from now on was electric, only about 40% of vehicles in 5 years would be electric vehicles. Of course, EVs currently only make up .5% of new vehicles sales. At this pace, electric vehicles are on pace to be about 2.4% of fleets in 2040. For more information about the future of transportation vehicles, check out the Fuels Institute research: http://www.fuelsinstitute.org/

Improving Fuel Quality

ExxonMobil Team

A team from ExxonMobil joined the D1 Expo to share the insights their company has found related to fuel quality concerns. Poor fuel quality has caused significantly higher costs for companies as it reduces engine performance and increases maintenance costs. Fuel injectors build up deposits over time, which inhibits ideal engine performance. ExxonMobil has invested in finding solutions to this problem, which we’ll discuss more in future articles.

Thriving in the Age of Distraction

Curt Steinhorst, Founder of Focuswise

How long has it been since the last time you looked at your phone? Five minutes if you’re stretching it? In this age of constant distractions, concentrating on your tasks can be difficult. You’ve probably heard that multitasking doesn’t work. Curt shared with us that in a study of Harvest MBA students, when asked to solve basic math problems, accuracy fell to an 8^th grade level when they were asked to perform other simple tasks simultaneously. What’s the solution? Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. But it’s important to set aside time to close your email, shut off your phone, and block the internet – at least for a period each day. That time to focus is important for maintaining productivity and giving your brain a chance to recuperate, making you more productive for the whole day.

Wild Cards in Quiet Times: A Look at Energy Supply in the Next 30 Months

Tom Kloza, Global Head of Energy Analysis at OPIS

Where are prices going to go in the next 18 months? According to Tom, prices are probably as high now as they’ll get. OPIS believes that the EIA gasoline demand statistics are overstated, and that analysts are too bullish on autumn demand. While demand is stagnating, production is soaring. When OPEC cuts expire in March 2018, the market will be flooded with supply. Large production trends take around seven years to come online; as we’re now passing the seven-year anniversary of prices surpassing $100/bbl, those projects are coming online and flooding the market with supply. Additionally, it takes about seven months for shale production to come online – as supply disruption occur that send prices higher, shale will quickly be able to replace lost supply. Overall, OPIS sees WTI crude prices remaining below $50 through the end of 2018.