In-brief analysis
October 18, 2024
On October 9, Hurricane Milton ruthlessly crashed into Florida’s western shore, roaring in as a formidable Category 3 storm. The onslaught of rain, ferocious winds, and subsequent flooding wreaked havoc on vital gasoline supply chains, leaving a prominent swath of retail gasoline stations, strikingly dry of fuel. Despite this turmoil, the average retail price of regular gasoline across Florida remained surprisingly steady in the storm’s wake, inching along at $3.04 per gallon this week as supply chains began their arduous recovery.
It’s worth noting that this average reflects a state-wide estimate; prices can fluctuate dramatically from one region to another, especially amid the chaos sparked by Hurricane Milton.
The state’s fuel supply landscape is precarious, as Florida is devoid of its own refineries or connecting gasoline pipelines from neighboring states with ample reserves. Instead, it依(n)pendently hinges on imports delivered by sea from both domestic and international sources. In the aftermath of the hurricane, several ports briefly shuttered operations, while others limped along under restrictions. Port Tampa Bay, a critical hub responsible for bringing in nearly half of Florida’s petroleum supply, escaped major damage to its docks, yet the lingering shadows of infrastructure debacles, power outages, and road closures lingered ominously, threatening the flow of supplies.
Most of Florida’s gasoline journeys from the Gulf Coast’s domestic refineries, interspersed with imports from afar. Key ports, strategically peppered along Florida’s shorelines, act as vital entry points for fuel deliveries, redistributed to local markets by trucks or short pipelines. The transportation routes vary by region:
- Western Florida: Trucked from terminals in Port Tampa Bay
- Southern Florida: Trucked from terminals in Port Everglades, just north of Fort Lauderdale
- Central Florida: Utilizes pipelines from Tampa, with additional truck deliveries from Port Canaveral on the Atlantic side
- Northeastern Florida: Relies on trucking from terminals in the Port of Jacksonville
A segment of the gasoline pipeline also serves Florida via both pipelines and trucking. At a terminal in Bainbridge, Georgia, gasoline is offloaded from the Colonial Pipeline and loaded onto long-distance tanker trucks destined for the Florida Panhandle. Additional supplies for western Florida trickle in from nearby refineries in Alabama and Mississippi.
As of October 14, the average retail price of gasoline in Florida held steady when juxtaposed with prices from a week prior, October 7. Meanwhile, the average retail gasoline price across the United States fluttered to $3.17 per gallon, representing a modest 1% uptick from the previous week.
Surge pricing resulting from localized shortages at specific stations can sharply distort statewide averages. To tackle these emerging challenges, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) mobilized resources and deployed emergency fuels. On October 15, the governor’s office announced that a substantial 508,600 gallons of diesel and a whopping 686,200 gallons of gasoline had been dispatched, with public fuel distribution centers activated in several strategic locations.
Principal contributors: Kevin Hack, Kimberly Peterson, Tara Bennett-Chirico