The single biggest problem in refining and marketing is the requirement for all the different gasoline formulations to satisfy air concerns. We could solve this problem overnite by specifying just two formulations nationwide; one for summer and one for winter, instead of the many we have.
you beat me. I should have kept going to the end of the thread.
Bingo! That is exactly the reason for most of the increases. Since the mandate of "designer gasolines", it's much more expensive to refine gasoline due to the constantly changing formulas, which means the refinery can't run a continuous process. It's also more expensive to ship since the "designer formulas" can't be mixed, they have to move by truck rather than pipeline, and shortages in one area can't be covered by surpluses in another due to the different formulas.