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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28 DECEMBER 2016 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com T he goal of this annual Sourcebook Read- ership Survey is to provide a picture of our readers: what type of operations do they run, how big and diverse are their busi- nesses, what are their common challenges, how are they dealing with those challenges, and more. Because the mix of respondents changes each year, each survey should be taken on its own merits. Participation in the survey is voluntary, of course, and it should be noted that some respondents choose to skip certain questions, for reasons of their own, which cannot be determined. But to the degree that companies do participate we thank them. For the record, 131 companies responded to this year's edition of the Sourcebook Reader- ship Survey. REGIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS The vast majority of respondents were from the Mid-Atlantic states and New England. Multiple regions could be selected. REVENUE Of the respondents who answered this question nearly half (48%) reported annual revenue in the $1 million to $5 million range; 14% reported revenue of $5 million to $10 million; and 13% reported revenue of $10 million to $25 million. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES The average operation numbered 25 employees, including six service technicians. Many respondents employ fewer than ten people, one employs more than 100 people, and two companies report that they employ 200 or more. NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS The average number of home heating customers, 3,304, when combined with the average number of commercial/industrial customers, 239, comes to an average 3,543 total heating oil cus- tomers. That is more than four times the respondents' average number of propane customers (821). SOURCES OF REVENUE Retail fuel oil sales account for the main source of revenue for most (94%) of respondents, and heating equipment sales rank second for almost two-thirds (65%) of respondents. These are followed by air-conditioning equipment sales (48%) and bulk fuel oil (34%). Respondents were asked to specify "other" sources of revenue, and those answers, though not statistically significant, seem to reflect marketers' attempts to diversify their operations. Among the "other" sources they specified were lawn care, residential stand-by generators and plumbing for solar installations. BUSINESS OPERATIONS The 2016 Sourcebook Readership Survey NEW ENGLAND: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island MID-ATLANTIC: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, Washington, D.C. SOUTH: Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida MIDWEST: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin WEST: Oklahoma, Texas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Hawaii 38.9% 47.2% 6.5% 6.5% 0.9% REGIONAL DISPERSION OF THE RESPONDENTS LESS THAN $1 MILLION $1 TO $5 MILLION $5 TO $10 MILLION $10 TO $25 MILLION $25 TO $50 MILLION MORE THAN $50 MILLION 10.1% 47.8% 14.5% 13.0% 5.8% 8.7% REVENUE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NUMBER OF SERVICE TECHNICIANS 25.44 6.46 EMPLOYEES NUMBER OF HOME-HEATING CUSTOMERS NUMBER OF COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS NUMBER OF PROPANE CUSTOMERS CUSTOMERS 3,304.58 239.28 820.93