OAK BROOK, Ill. -- It wasn't quite a landslide, but almost half of CSP Daily News readers who voted in an online poll this week agreed the top industry story of 2005 was gasoline prices.
This jibes with many of the stories covered in the last four months of the year by both CSP and the mainstream media, where coverage of skyrocketing gasoline prices received a healthy share of newspaper print and air time. In fact, gasoline prices scored top 10 spots on year-end lists by at least two consumer media outlets: the Associated Press (No. 5) and Fox News Channel ([image-nocss] No. 10).
Crude oil prices hit an all-time peak of almost $71 a barrel in August before subsiding, noted AP in its annual countdown of the top stories of the year. Costly gasoline prompted some motorists to rethink their driving habits; the beleaguered U.S. airline industry had to spend $9 billion more on jet fuel in 2005 than in 2004.
Similarly, Fox News said that stinky gas prices forced drivers to dig deeper than ever into their pockets to pay for gas as prices reached a high of $3.07 a gallon in early September after Hurricane Katrina damaged oil refineries along the Gulf Coast, disrupting fuel supplies. Steadily rising crude oil prices and continued strong demand in the United States and China helped contribute to the high costs.
Perhaps the bright spot for the c-store industry was that the media managed to assure most of the public that the high prices were not caused by greedy gasoline retailers. As Fox News noted, President Bush said high gasoline prices amounted to a tax on consumers and businesses, and he called on Congress to pass legislation to promote construction of more oil refineries to boost fuel supplies.
"We realize how dependent and how fragile our infrastructure is when it comes to gasoline," Bush said. "In order to take the pressure off your pocketbook, it seems to make sense to me that we need to expand the amount of supply of gasoline."
In the AP, Fox News and just about any other top-story list created by the mainstream media or the public, Hurricane Katrina took top honors. Days in advance, America knew it was coming. But even though Hurricane Katrina weakened slightly from its frightening Category 5 strength, its impact was stunning, said AP. It killed more than 1,300 people in five states, ravaged the Mississippi Gulf Coast and set off flooding that submerged 80% of New Orleans, forcing the largest urban dislocation in U.S. history. Hurricanes Wilma and Rita also inflicted severe damage.
Coping with Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma ranked a healthy second-place on the CSP Daily News poll, despite not being specifically industry-related. The complete results of the poll, based on 239 respondents:
Gasoline prices (48.5%). Coping with Hurricanes Katrina, Rita & Wilma (33.5%). Oil-company profits (7.5%). Gasoline supply issues (6.7%). State price-gouging probes (2.1%) Mergers & acquisitions (1.7%). Government inquiries of oil company execs (0.0%).Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.