Prices
Gasoline Pricing in Saranac Lake and Ray Brook
Standing in front of the Blue Moon Café a couple weeks ago, an old customer of mine stopped to chat and asked me why gasoline is so expensive in Saranac Lake. I get that question once in a while, having been in the fuel business. The person inquiring went on to say that they understood it cost more to transport gas here. Well, yes, that is true. But there is a lot more to the story than haul rates.
Days later, driving to Burlington, I undertook a price survey. Here are the results of my drive-by stats from Tuesday, April 2, 2024:
| Mobile | Redford | $3.40 | Maplefield’s |
| Tedford’s | Saranac | $3.36 | |
| Gulf | Saranac | $3.50 | |
| Buck’s | Plattsburgh – Rt. 22 | $3.33 | ($3.299 cash) |
| Mobile | Plattsburgh – US Ave. | $3.34 | |
| Sonis | Plattsburgh – Crete Blvd. | $3.35 | Southside Grocery |
| Stewarts | Plattsburgh – S. Catherine | $3.34 | |
| Stewart’s | Plattsburgh – Cornelia | $3.34 | |
| Sunoco | Plattsburgh – Cornelia | $3.34 | |
| Mobile | Plattsburgh – Cornelia | $3.34 | Maplefield’s |
| Mobile | Plattsburgh – Military T.P. | $3.34 | Maplefield’s |
| Stewart’s | Saranac Lake | $3.74 | |
| Mobile | Saranac Lake | $3.74 | |
| Sunoco | Ray Brook | $3.74 |
That’s quite a price swing from Stewart’s or Maplefield’s in Plattsburgh to those same operators in Saranac Lake and Ray Brook. Forty cents per gallon is huge. That price difference does not in any way reflect the haul which is about a half cent more per gallon for transport to SL over the cost for transport to Plattsburgh. That is, it costs $0.005 more to get gas to SL than to P’burgh whether coming south from Canada or north from Albany. To that half cent, add another fraction of a cent if there is a diesel surcharge and round-up to a penny. The result is that on that particular day, we paid thirty-nine cents per gallon more, for no apparent reason.
I noticed on the following day, Wednesday, Stewart’s in SL moved up three cents to $3.769. Prices elsewhere remained the same. If you are interested, you can follow gas pricing for many stations at: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-region/traffic/gas-prices and also at Gas Buddy (https://www.gasbuddy.com/gaspricemap?lat=44.329496&lng=-74.1312662&z=13). That move up was unusual, in my observations. Most often, Mobile on Broadway sets their price and Stewart’s follows at two cents under. Sunoco in Ray Brook is generally the same as Mobile.
Stewart’s will usually be lower in price than any nearby competitor. But, that Wednesday, Hyde Mobile was lower. By Thursday, Mobile went to $3.779. Sunoco in Ray Brook went to $3.769. Stewart’s remained at $3.769.
Throughout Northern New York, operators know that a price war with Stewart’s means loss of all margin. I remember when Stewart’s first went into Potsdam, over twenty years ago. An independent operator there lowered their price and the battle went on for a long time. It was the cheapest gas anywhere, by far.
The consistent result, if you follow gas pricing in our Saranac Lake area at least, is a lack of effective competition. That means higher margins for the station owners and higher prices for local residents.
A thirty-nine cent mark-up over and above what must be assumed to be workable margins in Plattsburgh is a very substantial profit. Even the little Tedford’s station in Saranac is always a lot less than stations here. Cudos to them. Give them a try. They’re nice folks and they pump the gas for you! Marketing glitz aside, the gasoline is basically the same. All gasolines include additives for cleaner performance. “Top Tier” brands use more additive, and that’s considered to be a value of three or four cents per gallon.
When you get to Plattsburgh, you can fill-up at Buck’s on Rt. 22 where they also offer a cash discount. Southside Grocery near the airport is frequently a station with competitive pricing, as is the Sunoco on Irish Settlement Road, for those of you who take that short-cut to the airport. Seems worthwhile to reward those competitive stations and save some money in the process.
Today, as a follow-up to the above, it is now October 10, 2024 and I have these drive-by pricing results: the Maplefield’s Mobil in Redford has $3.259, $3.159 for Tedfords’ full-service in Saranac and $3.249 at the Gulf station down the street, $3.099 at Stewarts on Route 3 west of Plattsburgh, and $2.999 for the Mobil at Rugar and Church. I filled-up at Bucks for $2.959 credit. Their cash price is $2.929.
