On ESPN2 last night, during the coverage of the NHRA qualifying in Seattle, Dave Rieff stated that the teams were paying $750 for 55 gallons of Nitro last year, now due to home land security they can only buy in drums of 44 gallons. Prices for Nitro were $1700 for 44 gals last week, $1800 for 44 gals this week and for the rest of the Western swing, may be $2000 for 44 gals by the US Nationals at Indy.
So even at the $2000/drum price ($45.45 per gallon of 100% Nitro), the cost of the Nitro portion for 30% glow fuel is $13.63. A year ago at the 55 gallon drum cost of $750, the cost component for 30% Nitro was $4.09.
Thus, anything more than about a $9.50 / gal increase is gouging (unless the spot market pricing is even more than $2000/drum)
Now, can anyone explain exactly how a 44 gallon drum is safer than a 55 gallon drum, given that a company would be placing orders for a similar amount? The amount of Nitro is the same, it is iust in more smaller containers.
In other words, if a company orders 220 gallons, they get 4 55 gallon drums, or 5 44 gallon drums. Obviously, the total amount is the same. More of a false sense of security? Just like you can't ship gallons, but you can ship 4 quarts.