Labor Day Holiday Motorists Will Find Higher Prices At the Pump
3 September 1999
Labor Day Holiday Motorists Will Find Higher Prices At the Pump; Near-Record Numbers to Travel Over the Holiday
HOUSTON--Sept. 2, 1999--Labor Day Holiday motorists in Texas will find the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline 18 cents higher across the state than the same period last year, according to AAA Texas. The average price in Texas of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is $1.1565. Last year at this time, the average statewide price was 97.5 cents. The current average price is also up almost 7 cents from the Auto Club's July 1999 survey, which showed the average price in Texas to be $1.09."Labor Day holiday travelers will find less of a bargain at gas pumps this year compared to last year," said Bill Noble, group manager for public affairs at AAA Texas. "Nonetheless, average gas prices in Texas are about 3 cents lower than what we found two years ago."
AAA Texas has also tracked a trend in increased gas prices since March 15, 1999. "Texas is continuing to see a trend in increasing gas prices that began this year in mid-March and has continued mostly unabated since then," said Noble. The statewide average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gas in Texas then was 89 cents, prior to the announcement of oil production cutbacks by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Nationally, AAA also found an increase in gas prices over the same period last year. Gas prices soared more than 8 cents in the last month and are now 18 cents above what they were prior to the last Labor Day holiday, according to AAA. AAA's monthly Fuel Gauge Report shows self-serve regular unleaded gasoline averages $1.255 per gallon nationwide. A year ago, the pre-labor day average price was $1.075. The increase was the biggest in August since prices rocketed 11.4 cents in August 1990 following Iraq's attack on Kuwait.
An estimated 34.8 million Americans are expected to travel 100 miles or more from home this Labor Day holiday -- the second highest total ever, according to AAA. This figure is just 100,000 lower than the record number of expected travelers for Labor Day weekend set in 1997 at 34.9 million. Despite the trend in higher gas prices, approximately 29.2 million of the expected travelers will go by automobile, light truck or recreational vehicle, up 1 percent from last year's 29.1 million motorists.
AAA Texas, an affiliate of the American Automobile Association, has been serving Texans since 1905. Today, the Auto Club offers its members a full-service travel agency, auto-related services, financial services, public safety programs, and legislative advocacy.
LABOR DAY HOLIDAY GAS PRICES
Average prices for gallon of self-serve regular unleaded
gasoline for selected Texas cities and periods.
Cities 8/24/99 7/26/99 8/25/98
------ ------- ------- -------
Abilene 1.1695 1.1057 0.97
Amarillo 1.2444 1.1405 0.99
Austin 1.1292 1.0659 0.97
Beaumont 1.1271 1.0659 0.97
Brownsville 1.1576 1.1165 0.98
Corpus Christi 1.1123 1.0683 0.92
Dallas 1.1756 1.0976 0.99
El Paso 1.2036 1.1550 1.04
Fort Worth 1.1520 1.0752 0.99
Houston 1.1602 1.0892 0.99
Laredo 1.1748 1.1094 1.01
Longview 1.1724 1.1008 0.97
Lubbock 1.2050 1.1347 0.97
San Antonio 1.1174 1.0627 0.95
Waco 1.1206 1.0507 1.93
STATEWIDE 1.1565 1.0900 0.9750
Source: Surveys commissioned by AAA Texas, conducted by the Oil
Price Information Service.
Projected Number of Labor Day, 1999 Travelers
By Automobile/Truck/RV
By Census Region of Residence
Percent Number of Auto 1999-1998
Population Traveling Travelers Percent
(Millions) By Auto (Millions) Change
---------- ----------- -------------- -----------
Total United 273.0 11% 29.2 1%
Northeast 51.9 9% 4.5 2%
Southeast 66.2 10% 6.8 -3%
Great Lakes 44.4 10% 4.6 -2%
Midwest 49.3 11% 5.6 0
West 61.2 13% 7.7 5%
Source: Travel Industry Association, AAA
NORTHEAST: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania; SOUTHEAST: South Atlantic: Delaware, District of
Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Virginia, West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Tennessee; GREAT LAKES: East North Central: Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin; MIDWEST: West North Central: Iowa,
Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota;
West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas; WEST:
Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,
Wyoming, Utah; Pacific: Washington, Oregon, California.