Good Morning , Henry Just got back yesterday afternoon from attending my grandson's HS graduation in Glen Ellyn , Illinois.......Since I enjoy driving, I drove both ways and thus ,I was able to see the variety of gasoline prices in the 5 state trip, ranging from $ 3.549 in Florida to 3.389 in Georgia up to $ 4.279 in Jeff's town and $ 4.459 in Chicago . I read an article in the Chicago Tribune while I was there which was very interesting and enlightning regarding oil profits . It seems that the typical profit line ( pure profit after expenses ) for oil companies nationwide is $ 30.00 on a barrel ( currently @ 102.00 cost per barrel ), but in the Chicago area , because that section of the country is sending part of their inventory to other sections of the midwest in order to make up for PLANNED refinery shutdowns , the profit line is $ 50.00 on the barrel . This Chicago price of course is affecting consumers decisions of where and what to spend for goods and materials , as it is all over the country ,but just more severely .What other industries can manufacture a product to produce that level of profitability willfully and then , when questioned by the government , claim to be unable to reduce their costs
? Extremely tough situation for all of us , for sure.
