Fuel sales from pump

Summary

The statistics published herein show the estimated volume of fuel from distribution pumps for the use of road transport in Iceland by year and month. The volume is classified as gasoline or diesel fuel. No estimate has been done for sales of methane, hydrogen or kerosene. In addition, values are classified by if the purchaser used a credit/debit card (“kortavelta”) or if the transaction involved direct transfer, cash or other methods of transfer (“utan kortaveltu”). The credit/debit transactions are further aggregated by the origin of the card issuer as either Icelandic or foreign.

Description

The statistics are the results of analysis of data received from Icelandic payment card processors. The fuel price for each transaction is based on information from Statistics Iceland’s price index and from information published on the websites of fuel companies. The total volume of fuel sold for road transport in Iceland is calculated from fuel tax returns reported by Iceland Revenue and Customs and from data reported from the National Energy Authority. The total for years missing from the tax data (most recent two years) is estimated from fuel import and the historical correlation between import and distribution the preceding years.

Conversion from fuel sales (ISK) to fuel volume assumes that fuel is sold without club discounts. The difference in the volume delivered with and without a discount automatically ends up classified as “utan kortaveltu”. It is assumed that sales at gas stations are primarily from fuel sales and to a much smaller extent from the sales of other items, such as candy, snacks and oil. Preliminary analysis indicates that sale volume of non-gasoline items is below 2% at stations that offer other products.

The fuel sales calculated from payment card transactions are subtracted from the total sales. This fuel is labeled as “utan kortaveltu”. This category encompasses all cash sales, fund transfers (e.g. when a business has a fuel pump on site), pre-paid fuel coupons or other financial transactions that do not use the services of Icelandic payment processing companies.

Objectives

Publication of timely information regarding fuel distribution gives a better picture of how driving and road transportation are developing. The data will be updated quarterly. The data should provide answers to question such as:

1. How large is the fraction of fuel consumed by foreign nationals in the territory (tourism)?
2. How do the fractions of gasoline and diesel fuel change during times when vehicles in Iceland are being renewed?