look how many gas stations are working at a loss

The drop in liquid fuel sales in April 2020 was one of the highest compared to previous periods.

Due to the social distancing measures implemented to contain the Covid 19 outbreak, the fall in sales in the Service Station sector has been “unprecedented”, as they maintain from the Confederation of Entities of Hydrocarbon Vending.

According to a report prepared with data from the National Secretariat of Energy, the collapse of liquid fuel sales in April 2020 was 48% compared to the same month of 2019. To put in a point of comparison, During none of the last stages of recession that occurred in the country had sales fallen so much.

Losses at service stations

According to the document, prepared by the consulting firm Economic Trends, it is estimated that the 84.3% of the Service Stations in the country today are operating at a loss, where 64.1% is below a critical point while another 22.2% is below the break-even point.

“These data were performing an optimistic calculation, but the number could be even greater. It must be understood that the majority are SMEs, which are striving to keep up-to-date,” said Gabriel Bornoroni, president of CECHA. Altogether, the report calculates that the sector lost $ 42,500 million due to the pandemic.

Reviewing the report’s numbers, the volume of gasoline sold fell 67.1 percent (65.6% drop in super naphtha and 71.7% drop in premium naphtha), while diesel fell 34 percent. The data is explained by the movement of the agricultural sector, which maintains its activity despite the quarantine, according to Suppliers.

Less gasoline sale in urban area

The report also indicates that the fall was much harder in urban agglomerations than in smaller cities or in the interior of the country. For example, the City of Córdoba registered a fall of 61.2 percent, while the rest of the province was 18.4 (29.1 provincial average). In that sense, the most affected place was the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, where the fall was 73.8 percent.

Fewer people and fewer cars on the street because of the quarantine.

However, Bornoroni is optimistic about the possible rebound in activity. That is why it maintains that by the end of October they could recover part of the sales volume, in case the normal functioning of the economy can be resumed.

From CECHA they also raised the possibility of thinking about specific measures for the different regions taking into account the disparate realities they face and the movement of each one.

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