PALMETTO, Fla. --RaceTrac Petroleum Inc. has signed a new agreement making Port Manatee in Palmetto, Fla., the fuel hub servicing more than 30 RaceTrac gas stations in a nine-county region.
“Each day, RaceTrac transports enough gasoline from the Port Manatee terminal to fuel more than 20,000 Southwest Florida vehicles,” said Max McBrayer, chief supply officer for RaceTrac. “As RaceTrac continues to expand its presence in Southwest Florida, our operations at Port Manatee allow us to increase efficiencies in fuel transportation, which enables us to continue providing our guests competitive fuel prices every day.”
Metroplex Energy, a wholesale fuel supplying company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of RaceTrac, supplies the fuel through Port Manatee. Metroplex secures bulk fuel to supply RaceTrac and RaceWay stores and other third-party companies by rail, pipeline, truck and barge.
The deal with Port Manatee enables Metroplex to increase fuel transportation efficiencies by supplying fuel to more than 30 RaceTrac stores across nine Florida counties, RaceTrac spokesperson Karissa Bursch told CSP Daily News. “Metroplex’s operations at Port Manatee make it possible for RaceTrac to continue providing guests competitive fuel prices every day,” she said.
Atlanta-based RaceTrac has more than 370 RaceTrac gas stations and convenience stores in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Texas, as well as more than 300 dealer-operated RaceWay gas stations and c-stores in 12 states.
Port Manatee’s serves Southwest Florida in an area that extends southward from Hillsborough and Pinellas counties to Collier County and west to Highland and Okeechobee counties, including Charlotte County.
“The RaceTrac fuel supply agreement stabilizes their distribution network and helps keep fuel costs down while enhancing competition in the market,” Charlotte County Commission chairman Bill Truex said following a recent visit to Port Manatee. “We appreciate Port Manatee’s regional approach. … Everything from transportation infrastructure to land prices and availability could affect how Port Manatee’s growth impacts economic development in Charlotte County and our neighbors.”
Port Manatee plays a key role in fueling Southwest Florida’s economy, serving as the gateway for nearly 100 million gallons of gasoline and related fuels on an annual basis.
During the three-month period from October through December, 420,319 barrels of gasoline were received at Port Manatee berths--compared with zero during the last three months of 2014--while the port also received about 75,000 barrels of inbound gasoline and ethanol via trucks during the final three months of 2015. The ethanol is blended with gasoline at tanks at the port to produce consumer fuel, which heads out from the port via more than 1,000 RaceTrac tanker trucks per month.
“The fuel business represents a new and exciting stream of revenue for Port Manatee, with tremendous upside potential, consistent with our diversification strategy,” said Carlos Buqueras, Port Manatee’s executive director. “We’re encouraged by the confidence in our port shown by RaceTrac and look forward to serving this industry sector for generations to come.”
Fuel also heads from Port Manatee to Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores locations in southwestern Florida, and tanks at the port hold No. 6 fuel oil as a backup supply for Florida Power & Light Co.’s Manatee Power Plant in nearby Parrish.
Port Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the expanding Panama Canal, with 10 40-foot-draft berths serving container, bulk, breakbulk, heavylift, project and general cargo customers. The port generates more than $2.3 billion in annual economic impact for the local community.
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