WEST DES MOINES, IA – According to public data, the price difference between wholesale and retail E85 prices remains historically wide. E85 is available on the wholesale market for as little as 10 cents per gallon while retail prices for motors are usually well over $2 higher.
“Last night President Trump urged fuel retailers to ‘get their prices down,’” stated Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw. “As a trade association, we never tell anyone how to price a product at any point in the supply chain but in 27 years I’ve never seen the wholesale-to-retail price spread as large as it is for E85 in Iowa right now. A reasonable person would assume that with E85 at 10 cents wholesale, the retail prices would be the best fuel bargain ever. But we’re not seeing that with a few, very rare exceptions,” according to a press release.
E85 can be used in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). FFVs are designed to run on any fuel blend from no ethanol up to E85, which contains up to 85 percent ethanol. Wholesale prices do not include federal and state taxes, transportation costs, and markups for things like credit card fees, depreciation and retailer margins.
“With Independence Day coming up, it’d be great to see America’s homegrown E85 fuel providing relief to Iowans,” added Shaw.
