Lutz Petroleum posts fuel prices online and adds tax-included quotes

Lutz Petroleum has rebuilt its pricing around public, daily fuel numbers after Ryan Claterbaugh became owner-operator in 2025. The Spindale, North Carolina, distributor now posts live heating oil and diesel prices, offers tax-included Rack + X quotes for commercial buyers, and provides a free buyer’s guide as fuel costs stay elevated.

Why it matters: - Fuel buyers often have to call for a price, then discover taxes, broker fees or delivery changes later. - Lutz Petroleum is trying to remove that friction by putting prices and terms in public before customers buy. - The shift lands as heating oil costs remain elevated for farms, fleets and households.

What happened: - Lutz Petroleum, a family-owned fuel distributor in Spindale, North Carolina, changed its pricing model after Ryan Claterbaugh became owner-operator in 2025. - The company now posts live home heating fuel and pump diesel prices at lutzpetroleum.com, with daily updates. - Commercial delivery customers now get open Rack + X pricing with state and federal fuel taxes included. - Lutz also offers a free Commercial Fuel Buyer’s Guide and Budget Calculator.

The details: - The company says Rack + X pricing means the daily terminal rack price plus a fixed margin agreed in advance. - Commercial quotes include fuel taxes, arrive the same day and are delivered by Lutz’s own trucks and drivers. - The buyer’s guide explains how the rack works, the difference between tax-included and no-tax quotes, which Rack + X terms to get in writing and how to read a fuel invoice. - Heating oil and K-1 kerosene prices are posted daily by gallon amount and payment method. - Customers can order heating oil at that day’s price online or by phone. - Live pump prices for cash and check sales of highway and off-road diesel update every day at Lutz’s public pumps on Oakland Road in Spindale. - Lutz’s commercial bulk delivery business also supplies diesel, gasoline, DEF, bulk oil and lubricants to farms, fleets, job sites, sawmills and convenience stores across the region. - Lutz also delivers home heating oil and kerosene. - The company is enrolled as a vendor for North Carolina’s LIEAP and CIP heating assistance programs.

Between the lines: - The pricing change is a direct response to a market where customers increasingly have to compare suppliers on their own. - The move also pushes Lutz closer to a transparency-first model in a fuel market where final delivered cost can be hard to pin down. - Ryan Claterbaugh said the goal is to make prices easier to see and understand up front.

What’s next: - Lutz will keep publishing daily prices and offering same-day commercial quotes. - The company is likely to use its public pricing and buyer education as a key sales pitch for both heating customers and commercial accounts. - Lutz continues to lean on its own delivery fleet and long-running regional service base as it competes for fuel business.

The bottom line: - Lutz Petroleum is betting that clear, upfront pricing will win customers in a year when fuel bills are already high.