The margins of fuel distributors have started to rise again, reaching “unacceptable” levels again, according to a consumer association (AFP AFP / Xavier LEOTY)
The margins of fuel distributors have been on the rise since this fall, once again reaching “unacceptable” levels, the consumer association CLCV estimated on Thursday, while a report commissioned by Elisabeth Borne is still awaited.
Distributors, under pressure from the government and consumers, committed at the beginning of summer 2023 to reduce their gross transport/distribution margins deemed “excessive” (more than 25 cents per liter of fuel).
“Unfortunately, they increased again in November,” notes the CLCV.
This margin increased in January to 26 cents per liter of SP95 gasoline and 22.2 cents per liter of diesel, according to the association, while it was on average around 15 cents over the period 2018-2021, d ‘after the federation of petroleum industries.
“These excessive levels are not acceptable,” judges the CLCV, which is based on data from the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
“Distributors” does not mean “service stations”, warned Francis Pousse on Thursday, representing some 5,600 stations operating outside of large-scale distribution (i.e. around half of the fleet).
For pump attendants, “the majority of contracts include a fixed commission, whatever the price of the barrel. This gross commission is today between 3 and 5 cents”, and it must cover costs (maintenance of the station, salaries), he explains.
The 26 cents noted by the CLCV, which applies to the entire distribution chain (pump attendants but also transporters, storers, etc.), must also cover increasing costs in a context of inflation, he insists.
– No “significant effort” from oil tankers –
In 2022, this margin – or the difference between the price excluding taxes of fuel and the price leaving the refinery – had fallen to very low levels, distributors having chosen not to pass on the entire rise in crude prices following the Ukrainian crisis.
Since the summer, prices at the pump have fallen due to the fall in the price of a barrel. But this decline “could have been more significant if the transport/distribution margins had been maintained”, points out CLCV.
Since the summer, prices at the pump have fallen due to the fall in the price of a barrel (AFP / Sameer Al-DOUMY)
The association “underlines the need to question the fair remuneration of distributors”. She calls on them “to respect their commitment not to practice excessive margins and to make an effort of around 5 to 8 cents per liter”.
In September, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced the launch of a mission to “provide transparency on the costs and margins of the entire sector”, from production to distribution including refining.
It was due to be published in early December. The hearings took place, indicates Mr. Pousse. But since then, no news.
In its report on Thursday, the CLCV also looks at the impact of the cost price operations carried out this fall, and notes “significant disparities”.
Analyzing the prices charged from September 29 to October 13, it estimates that the major retail brands (Leclerc, Intermarché, Système U, Carrefour) and the discounters of oil groups (Esso express, Total access) “played the game by lowering their prices by 3 to 6%.
On the other hand, the oil tanker brands (TotalEnergies, AVIA) offering much higher prices “have not made a significant effort”, she adds.
The CEO of TotalEnergies Patrick Pouyanné confirmed last week that the price of its fuels would be capped at 1.99 euros for the year 2024 and “perhaps even beyond”.
“There are still 500 stations in France”, out of the 3,400 in the TotalEnergies fleet “which benefit from this cap”, especially in rural areas where logistics costs are higher, indicated the CEO on February 7.
TotalEnergies has never given a figure on the possible cost to it of this cap.