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Labor Day gas prices on track to reach their lowest level in 3 years
American motorists may be paying significantly less at the pump this Labor Day, with gas prices expected to be the cheapest for the holiday in three years.
Continuing a recent downward trend, the average price of gas nationwide will fall to $3.27 per gallon on Labor Day, GasBuddy predicted in its annual travel forecast for the holiday. The projection has the price running 50 cents below the $3.77 average recorded a year ago, meaning motorists would be paying 13% less.
GasBuddy estimates Americans will spend roughly $750 million less at the pump this Labor Day than they did during the three-day weekend in 2023.
“It doesn’t feel too bad compared to two summers ago, when you could find the stray $6 price across Chicago,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CBS News Chicago. “Prices have basically been in a free fall since mid-July,” he added.
Gas prices have been sliding since peaking at $3.69 a gallon in mid-April, with lower demand and fewer refinery outages helping keep a lid on costs. U.S. inventories of gasoline 3% above year-ago levels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
“We’re seeing perhaps the best opportunity in years for the national average to fall below $3 per gallon,” De Haan said in a statement.
Falling seasonal demand and cheaper winter gasoline is around the corner, De Haan noted, making it likely that tens of thousands of stations around the country could have sub-$3 gas closer to Thanksgiving.
“The arrival of September means cheaper winter-blend gasoline is almost here, which always helps take pressure off pump prices,” AAA’s Andrew Gross said. Lackluster demand and declining oil prices could cause gas to drop more, he added.
That said, prices vary depending on location. Weekly changes in regional costs can be found by looking at the CBS News price tracker.
Regional price changes
Gas typically costs more on the West Coast because of factors including the region’s limited interconnections with other major refining centers (including the Gulf Coast) and requirements for gas specifications that are costlier to produce, according to the EIA.
Last month saw storm-related refinery outages result in slight increases in gas prices in the Midwest.
In Florida, Hurricane Debby threatened Gulf Coast oil production after making landfall earlier this month, but ultimately did not significantly affect refinery activity or petroleum demand, the federal agency noted.
Gas prices are priciest in Hawaii, where a gallon averages $4.65, followed by California and Washington at $4.62 and $4.16, respectively, according to a rundown by AAA. In Nevada, a gallon of gas is averaging $3.96, and in Oregon, $3.79.
Conversely, gas is least expensive in Mississippi, where a gallon averages $2.88, followed by Oklahoma and Texas, where it averages $2.94. In Tennessee a gallon of gas runs $2.95, and in Louisiana it’s a penny more, at $2.96 a gallon.
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In Hollywood, a land known for marquees and famous signs, there’s probably no sign that’s more on the nose than the store Just Food For Dogs. There, four-legged customers sample today’s offerings, while their owners stock up on the food.
Sarah Rector and her French bulldog, Lulu, are buying her regular order, including beef with russet potato, and venison with squash. Rector says she feels better buying the store’s food for Lulu rather than commercial dog food: “I just know that she’s getting the best possible, like, ingredients and health and overall wellness.”
She and her husband don’t have children, yet, but they have another French bulldog, “so I feel like we have kids.”
It’s tempting to write this off as a trendy L.A. fad, but Just Food For Dogs president Carey Tischler says this store is here because of a permanent shift in the roughly $50 billion U.S. pet food industry. “The last year of research shows that 82% of families think of pets as family, or as children, and that’s up significantly,” he said.
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Joe Ovalle is Just Food’s guest experience manager. He says all of their pet food is approved by the USDA for human consumption. “It is human-grade food, something you and I could eat,” he said.
He sampled one of their recipes, for fish and sweet potato. “Oh my God, it’s like ceviche,” he smiled.
It may seem a bit indulgent, and can cost double the price of Kibbles, but some say that feeding our dogs natural food is what we should have been doing all along – and making it yourself can cost the same as buying food from the store.
“It’s about going back to what is biologically appropriate, that they ate for tens of thousands of years,” said pet nutritionist Christine Filardi. “They ate prey animals and table scraps. So, I’m just educating people on how to go back to what they ate for tens of thousands of years prior to commercial pet food.”
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
Filardi is author of “Home Cooking For Your Dog,” a cookbook offering recipes with what she says are the three necessities: animal protein, a carb, and a veggie, as well as a few extravagant treats, like her bacon and cream cheese muffins.
Filardi says whether it’s store-bought or home-cooked fresh food, the results are the same: well-fed animals live longer, have cheaper vet bills, and are happier … which makes the owners happy, too.
“They take such good care of us,” she said. “We should take good care of them.”
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Hearty Hamburgers
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Friday Playdate Pizza
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Bacon and Cream Cheese Muffins
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Ground Turkey, Quinoa, and Carrots
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Story produced by John Goodwin. Editor: Joseph Frandino.
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