Friday July 20, 2007 FEATURES How to avoid selling tobacco to underage customers One week apart and in cities on separate coasts, the challenge of curbing tobacco sales to minors grabbed headlines. In Seattle, a study that found convenience stores with gas pumps in the Seattle market are the most likely to violate laws banning the sale of tobacco to minors; and in Springfield, Mass., store owners, health officials and city councilors are planning more severe penalties on businesses caught selling cigarettes and other tobacco products to minors. (Full Story) Weights and Measures experts: Temperature compensation is 'top priority' "Automatic temperature compensation is our top priority this year," said Judy Cardin, the chair of the National Conference on Weights and Measures. The group voted July 11 on a proposal that would have established a model for temperature compensation for states to follow, but the proposal did not win enough votes for adoption. (Full Story) Sign up for a FREE subscription to NPN, the magazine that has been reporting news and trends in the petroleum and convenience store industry since 1909. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Get The Data That Drives The Petroleum & Convenience Industry Today! To order your print copy or CD version of the 2006 NPN MarketFacts edition, please click here NEWS ITEMS PetroClear designs fuel filters to be compatible with ethanol PetroClear, Albion, Ill., a division of Champion Laboratories, Inc., and a manufacturer of fuel-dispensing filters, said it has designed its fuel-filter lines to be compatible with the dispensing of ethanol at any percentage, from the E10 that is blended into today's unleaded gasoline, to the E85 that is becoming a larger and larger component in the motor-fuel pool. (Full Story) Poll: If gas reaches $3.50, many drivers will drive less About 40 percent of U.S. drivers would curb their driving if retail gasoline prices reached $3.50 a gallon, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll of 524 people, Reuters reported July 19. (Full Story) NACS president: rise in credit card fees 'unjustifiable and unsustainable' Noting that the convenience and petroleum retailing industry in 2006 paid more in credit card fees than it earned in overall profits, NACS President and CEO Hank Armour told the House Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Task Force in written testimony that the "rapid increase in fees is unjustifiable and unsustainable," the association said in a July 19 press release. (Full Story) Merchants Payments Coalition ads spotlight interchange fees Advertisements placed this week by the Merchants Payments Coalition, a group of merchant trade associations seeking a more competitive and transparent credit card fee system, aim to show how credit card companies use some of the billions they collect from the credit card interchange fee to pay for marketing campaigns, the coalition announced in a July 16 press release. (Full Story) EIA: retail gasoline prices jump almost 7 cents For the second consecutive week, the U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline increased, climbing 6.8 cents to 304.9 cents per gallon as of July 16, 2007, according to the July 18 edition of "This Week in Petroleum," published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). (Full Story) OPW names Phil Carlin president of OPW Fuel Management Systems OPW Fueling Components announced July 18 that it has named Phil Carlin president of its OPW Fuel Management Systems, Inc. business unit. Carlin will replace David Crouse who was recently promoted to president of OPW Fluid Transfer Group, another Dover Company. (Full Story) In Texas: Brookshire Brothers and Polk Oil to merge by month's end Brookshire Brothers and Polk Oil have agreed to go into business together, according to a July 18 article by Brittony Lund in the Lufkin Daily News. (Full Story) McPherson Oil Products selects RedPrairie RedPrairie Corp. announced July 18 that McPherson Oil Products has selected RedPrairie Warehouse, an information technology system, to support its rapid expansion and increase customer satisfaction. (Full Story) Couche-Tard revenues top $12 billion for 2007 Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Laval, Quebec, on July 17 announced revenues of US $3.0 billion for the fourth quarter ended April 29, 2007, an increase of US $333.7 million or 12.6% over 2006. (Full Story) Delek buys stake in Lion Oil for $65.4 million Delek US Holdings Inc. has entered into agreements with several Lion Oil Co. shareholders to acquire a minority equity interest of 28.3 percent in the company for $65.4 million, the Memphis Business Journal reported July 16. Lion Oil operates a refined petroleum products terminal in Memphis as well as 188 convenience stores in the Memphis and Nashville markets. (Full Story) Mark VII signs SourceOne as distributor in Arkansas Mark VII Equipment Inc., Arvada, Colo., announced on July 16 the signing of SourceOne as distributor for the state of Arkansas. (Full Story) BP sells 26 stations in Akron, Ohio, to Giant Oil BP has sold 26 service stations in the Akron, Ohio market to Giant Oil Inc., Tampa, Fla., according to a July 14 article in the Beacon Journal. (Full Story) U.K. newspaper speculates on merger of BP and Shell There is now an increasingly compelling case for BP and Shell to merge, according to a July 15 article by David Strahan in The Independent, a U.K. newspaper. (Full Story) Obituary: Frank Ferino, 77, owned gas stations Frank Ferino and his late brother Steve were owners of the Ferino Brothers Exxon and Texaco service stations from 1956 to 1987, and he served on the Exxon National Dealer Advisory Board for a few years, according to an obituary by Lisa Davidson in the July 14 online edition of the Bucks County Courier Times, a newspaper in Pennsylvania. (Full Story) PRODUCT OF THE WEEK New Tank Sampler Kit for Fuel Storage Tanks Central Illinois Manufacturing Company (Cim-Tek® Filtration) has developed an innovative way to take more accurate samples from the bottom of fuel storage tanks with its new product, the Tank Sampler Kit. It is a portable hand-operated vacuum device designed for use on underground and above-ground tanks storing gasoline, diesel fuels, alcohol-blended fuels, as well as fuel oil tanks. With this product, samples of the fuel will be more accurate than using water- finding paste. The sample containers can be taken to a lab for the identification of other contaminants such as microbiological growths or particulates. The Tank Sampler Kit (Part #60035) contains a 6' & 14' polyurethane suction hose with brass weights so samples can be taken directly from the tank bottom for a more precise reading. It is equipped with three shatterproof containers in a metal holder, which keeps test samples from spilling. All components are placed in a portable case that is easy to store. Cim-Tek www.cim-tek.com CALENDAR OF EVENTS Florida Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association 2007 Convention & Trade Show Gaylord Palms Resort Kissimmee, Fla. July 21-25 (850) 877-5178 www.fpma.org North Carolina Association of Convenience Stores 2007 Annual Convention Kingston Plantation Myrtle Beach, S.C. July 22-25 (919) 834-5933 www.nccstore.com   2007 Hispanic Retail 360 Summit Westin Park Central Hotel Dallas, Texas August 1-3 www.nacsonline.com Mississippi Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association 2007 Convention and Trade Expo Ross Bridge Resort Birmingham, Ala. August 1-4 (601) 353-1624 www.mspetroleum.com   Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association Convention and Trade Show Snow King Resort Jackson Hole, WY August 4-7 (303) 422-7805 www.cwpma.org NACS Leadership Executive Program Ithica, N.Y. Cornell University August 19-23, 2007 www.nacsonline.com   For a complete list of industry events, go to NPN's calendar web page.  Published By NPN Group |  © 2007 NPN Group | All Rights Reserved For more information on NPN MarketPulse, contact: Gary Bevers, group publisher M2MEDIA360 Retail Distribution Group Ph: 832-444-7675 Fax: 800-430-3446 Keith Reid, editor-in-chief M2MEDIA360 NPN Group Ph: 630-739-0280 Fax: 630-739-0321 This newsletter is protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, re-disseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the prior written permission of M2MEDIA360.

Unsubscribe or update your email address.
M2MEDIA360 | 760 Market Street, Suite 432 | San Francisco, CA 94102