another one of my ideas…
Here’s a pic I took w/ my phone at sunset yesterday…
A lot of my friends and colleagues will remember me talking about fuel pricing hedges for independent commercial trucking and taxi drivers. The idea was to create hedging strategies that enable the individuals to take advantage of the benefits that most corporations have (e.g. Southwest Airlines). I’ve been talking about it for years, but didn’t see it come into the market until recently when Chrysler started providing fixed fuel costs for their new vehicles. Now mygallons.com has launched. It’s a fuel hedge for everyday people. Looks like Steven Verona was ahead of me. It’s exactly what I was talking about, with a larger potential client base. My biggest concern was fund maintenance and the fees for hedges (this is what has enabled Southwest to hedge more than its competitiors) — but it appears that the upfront fees should account for most of that risk. Moreover, I suppose that they can build transaction fees into the pricing, as well as set pricing on the fly (as futures market prices move). I really like the idea of a membership model (a la costco). They make the bulk on the fees and charge a flat 15% margin — the same can be applied here…so it should work out great! Just wish that I had pushed this idea further…I also wish I could have locked my cost in at $2.50 for a gallon of premium — we’re paying nearly $5.00 out her in so cal.
Today’s song of the day is "Sleepyhead," by Passion Pit. I think that you’ll dig it. Check it out:
