TAMPA, Fla. – As fuel prices rise, the costs are forcing business owners around the Bay Area to make some tough decisions.
The backstory:
Businesses with vehicles on the roads or boats on the water are eating the cost of rising gas and diesel prices.
Experts say global tensions are playing a major role in the spike.
By the numbers:
Gasoline prices in Tampa have climbed about $1.30 since this time last month, when the conflict involving Iran began.
The ongoing chokehold on nearly one-fifth of the global oil supply at the Strait of Hormuz continues to drive oil prices higher.
Fuel analysts warn that without an end to the conflict, prices could continue climbing.
Waterway Guide tracks fuel and diesel prices at marinas around the Bay Area.
As of this week, the cost of diesel at a number of marinas in the area was well over $5 per gallon and at some, over $6 per gallon.
What they’re saying:
Boat captains say it’s normal for marine fuel prices to be higher than gas prices on the road.
“You have to roll with the punches,” Capt. Travis Pack, the owner of Captain Pack Sparrow Adventures, said. “You gotta be resilient. There’s going to be waves. There’s going to be times when things cost less and things cost more, so you just gotta roll with it.”
Some boat captains around Tampa have seen gas and diesel prices double over the last month.
“From the low $2 range, to now, it’s in the $4 range,” Pack said. “So, I not only have the boat fuel, but I have the truck fuel, because I trailer the boat to the water. So now I’m paying for truck fuel, and I’m paying for boat fuel.”
Dig deeper:
Pack operates fishing and boating charters around the region. He says this is the beginning of peak season, but it comes at a time when he’s eating the extra fuel costs.
“It’s just unpredictable,” Pack said. “When you’re booking charters months in advance, you don’t know that the gas prices are going to double.”
Pack is trying to avoid passing the extra costs onto his customers.
“Right now, I’m keeping my prices the same, but if it keeps up, then who knows,” Pack said. “I might have to reconsider that down the line.”
Similarly, trucking companies and moving companies are up against the same challenge with gas prices on the road.
“Most of our trucks actually use regular gas, or unleaded gas,” George Spowart, the chief revenue officer of College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving said. “The same price that people are seeing, we’re seeing a similar price increase. So about a buck over a month ago.”
College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving does a lot of its business locally, but it also takes cross-country trips, which can be costly.
“Just last week, we talked about should we be passing on that expense to the customer?” Spowart said. “We really felt like it’s a cost of doing business, and you can tighten your belt in other places.”
Spowart says they aren’t passing the additional fuel costs onto customers, but they’re finding other ways to cut costs and be more efficient.
The Source: Information for this story came from interviews with Tampa Bay business owners and the Associated Press.
