RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Levi Ball said things may get tight for business if the cost of diesel continues to rise. He owns Box Turtle Moving Company, and filling up is a significant expense.
“For us, on a slow week, I mean, we might spend $500 just in fuel. On a hot week, double or triple that, depending on how far we have to go, ” Ball said.
The average cost of diesel is now $4.65.
In North Carolina, it’s $4.69 a gallon.
A week ago, diesel in North Carolina was $3.56.
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“I didn’t realize it was even that high. I thought it was $3.70. That is what I would have told you,” said Ball as he filled one of his moving trucks.
He has a fleet of four. One of the trucks takes 70 gallons of diesel. Ball said the jump in price is hard to stomach.
“That’s an expense that, you know, we could give that money otherwise to pay our guys better, reinvesting in the business,” Ball said.
The jump in gas prices is fueled by the war in the Middle East. But if gas stations purchased the fuel before the conflict started, why are customers paying more at the pump now?
NC State professor and economist Mike Walden explained.
“If you are a service station and you bought your gasoline, let’s say a month ago, and it’s in your tanks, you bought it at a lower price than it is today. But today it’s more valuable. It’s a higher price. And so you’re going to take advantage of that and raise your prices,” Walden said.
And people like Ball, who rely on it heavily for business, have no choice on cost.
“If it continues to go up. I mean, we’ll still be able to pay our guys. But at the same time, our margins, our take-home margins that we live off of at the end of the day are going to dwindle to the point where, you know, we’ve got to worry about whether can we make payments on the debts that we have,” said Ball.
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