America's Most Popular Gasoline Pipeline Is Losing its Edge
- Shipping demand hasn’t dropped below capacity in six years
- Colonial customers’ changed needs have been a long time coming
Oil infrastructure stands at the Colonial Pipeline Co. Pelham junction and tank farm in Pelham, Alabama.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The hottest trade in the U.S. gasoline market is starting to cool.
As America’s U.S. Gulf Coast refining complex seeks more attractive destinations for its rising production of motor fuels, marketers have found that shipping gasoline to the Atlantic Coast on the Colonial Pipeline might not be the most profitable anymore. The operator of the largest U.S. gasoline pipeline told shippers Thursday that demand fell below its 1.3 million-barrel-a-day Line 1 capacity, indicating a sea change in physical gasoline market dynamics.