The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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DATELINE ACT NOW OR SAY GOODBYE TO RECENT LEGISLATIVE VICTORIES The industry worked hard to get curbs in place in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that was signed into law last year by President Obama.That included reforms designed to reduce excessive speculation in the energy markets and put limits on debit interchange fees. Both accomplishments are currently under heavy attack. On the speculation front, the law is cur- rently bogged down in the Commodity Future Trading Commission rulemaking process.Key components of that law keep getting pushed back and appropriations needed to fund CFTC oversight under the new law are being limited. On the debit fee front, a bill introduced by Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) would delay implementation of the Durbin amendment for more study in what is basi- cally a “kill bill.” The goal in both cases is to ride out the current Congress and presidential admin- istration until a likely more favorable change occurs in Congress and the presidency in 2012. The financial industry hopes to posi- tion the issue among small government, conservative Republicans and like-minded Democrats as one of overreaching govern- ment regulation and government price fixing.They have currently enjoyed some success in this regard. The trade associations involved in this fight – the Petroleum Marketers Association ofAmerica,New England Fuel Institute and the National Association of Convenience Stores – have implored their members to become involved in the process and educate both existing and new members ofCongress as to the real world impact these issues have on business,jobs and the economy.There is only a limited time frame left to support these issues.However, a solid push from industry members can make a quick and significant difference for both issues. NEFI,PMAA and NACS (and most state associations) encourage any member of the downstream petroleum industry who feels these issues are important to his or her liveli- hood to contact their national or state associations for guidance on how to become FEATURED NEWS Legislative victories in peril AHRI January data High energy costs Diesel price first decrease in 2011 Boston Environmental new hire Work Truck Show results Taco building project Consumer Focus Marketing new hire NAOHSM training trainers involved in the process and make sure the victories that were attained against great odds are not defeated after the fact through complacency.The process is actually quite simple and not overly burdensome, partic- ularly compared to what is at stake. AHRI RELEASES JANUARY 2011 U.S. HEATING, COOLING EQUIPMENT SHIPMENT DATA The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) is the trade association representing manufacturers of air conditioning, heating, and commercial refrigeration equipment.AHRI provides regular reports on the sales of a variety of equipment. Offered below is the data for January 2011. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for January 2011 decreased 8 percent, to 303,429 units, down from 329,088 units shipped in January 2010. Residential electric storage water heater ship- ments decreased 6 percent in January 2011, to 292,656 units,down from 311,618 units shipped in January 2010. Commercial Storage Water Heaters Commercial gas storage water heater ship- ments decreased 7 percent in January 2011, to 6,138 units, down from 6,598 units shipped in January 2010. Commercial elec- tric storage water heater shipments increased 6 percent in January 2011,to 4,381 units, up from 4,120 units shipped in January 2010. Warm Air Furnaces U.S.shipments of gas warm air furnaces for January 2011 increased 13 percent, to 190,798 units, up from 169,024 units shipped in January 2010.Oil warm air fur- nace shipments decreased 7 percent, to 5,237 units in January 2011, down from 5,609 units shipped in January 2010. Central Air Conditioners and Air-Source Heat Pumps U.S. shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps totaled 324,027 units in January 2011, up 4 percent from 311,075 units shipped in January 2010.U.S. shipments of central air conditioners increased 2 percent, to 197,416 units, up from 193,849 units shipped in January 2010. U.S. shipments of air-source heat pumps increased 8 percent, to 126,611 units, up from 117,226 units shipped in January 2010. * NOTE: Industry figures are estimates derived from the best available figures supplied by a sample ofAHRI member companies and are subject to revision. HEATING FUEL DEALERS CALL ON WASHINGTON TO ADDRESS HIGH ENERGY COSTS At its recent quarterly board of directors meeting, the New England Fuel Institute approved a new national public policy agenda calling on Congress to address fac- tors contributing to high energy costs and to promote diversity and choice in the marketplace. The NEFI board also voted to join some members of Congress and other energy groups in calling on the Obama adminis- tration to release product from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in light of the ongoing events in the Middle East and North Africa, which may put global supplies of crude oil at risk. “Our industry believes that Washington needs to get off its hands and do something about the various issues affecting consumer energy prices,”said Jim Collura,NEFI’s vice president for government affairs. Collura pointed to short-term solutions, such as utilizing petroleum reserves and addressing unchecked commodity specu- www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | APRIL 2011 3