Founded in 1952, the California Independent Oil Marketers Association (CIOMA) is the industry's statewide trade association representing the needs of independent wholesale and retail marketers of gasoline, diesel, lubricating oils and other petroleum products; transporters of those products; and retail convenience store operators. The vast majority of our members are small business owners- with ma
ny of them family-owned businesses passed down from one generation to the next. We represent about 300 members, including nearly 90% of all the independent petroleum marketers in the state and about one quarter of the state’s 10,000 service stations. Petroleum marketers, also known as jobbers, buy fuel at a major oil company's terminal rack and distribute it to their customers. These customers are local governments, law enforcement, city and county fire departments, ambulances/emergency vehicles, school district bus fleets, construction firms, marinas, public and private transit companies, hospital emergency generators, trucking fleets, independent fuel retailers (small chains and mom-and-pop gas stations) and California agriculture, among others. We also directly represent fuel retailers including both branded and independent services stations, chain operators and small “mom-and-pop” locations. The extent, versatility and immediacy of response provided by the independent jobbers has led the California Energy Commission to rely on our members to provide fuel in emergency situations, such as earthquakes, wildfires, floods and other catastrophes. Our association provides the life-blood of our economy – transportation fuels and energy – to the motoring public and business economy. In simple terms, our members take transportation fuel and energy from the manufacturers and deliver it to the end customer. They can be either wholesale or retail participants in the fuel delivery transaction and may deliver the fuel to individual users (i.e. service stations) or to bulk purchasers (e.g. farmers, fleet fueling locations, government agencies, industrial complexes, etc.). Our members serve every region, city, county and locality in this state.
