Jack Wright, owner of Wright-Way Moving and Storage, in Seattle told Business Know-How, that pennies count. "When you're using 8000 to 10,000 gallons of fuel per month," he explained, "five cents less per gallon can mean a savings of $500."
Fuel prices are at the top of the list of concerns for members of the trucking industry. "Fuel is our second-largest expenditure following labor costs," Tim Lynch, a senior vice president of the American Trucking Associations told reporters on April 24, 2006.
"Fuel expenditures are roughly 20 to 25 percent of total expenditures for a typical trucking company," he said.
ATA predicts the industry will spend $94.3 billion on fuel this year, based on current fuel price forecasts, a $6.6 billion increase over the $87.7 billion spent by trucking in 2005.
Spiraling fuel prices threaten to spoil what many had hoped would be a recovery year for the airline industry. The record-high cost of commercial jet fuel is the primary reason why the industry is expected to post an estimated $10 billion net loss for 2005
The average cost of a gallon of jet fuel has more than doubled since 2000 - from 78 cents-per-gallon in January 2000 to $1.81 per-gallon in January 2006, according to the Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy.
The Air Transport Association expects jet fuel costs to average $70 per barrel or $1.67 per gallon in 2006, a 90% increase since 2001.
According to the ATA, at a usage rate of 19.5 billion gallons of fuel a year, each penny increase in price per gallon adds $195 million in annual costs for the airline industry
Rising costs caused airlines to raise fares 12 times in 2005. Last month, American Airline raised domestic round-trip ticket prices by $10, and in the first quarter of 2006, both Continental and Southwest reported a 5.4% increase in ticket prices, increases that fell short of rising fuel prices, according to Airwise News on April 21, 2006.
Farmers face an increasing cost-price squeeze in 2006, according to economists from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Production costs that increased $28 billion in the past 3 years will increase another $7 billion in 2006, the economists predict. Rising energy prices, including fuel and fertilizer, made up $10 billion of the increase since 2002, they said.
In 2005, farmers spent $3 billion more on fuel and $1.4 billion more on fertilizer than they did in 2004. Natural gas which is 90% of the cost of nitrogen fertilizer is one reason and diesel which has commanded a large per-gallon premium over regular gasoline is another, according to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns remarks to The Second Annual National Agricultural and Forestry Renewable Energy Summit Washington DC on March 8, 2006
In 2002, farmers spent $18.36 billion on energy for crop production. Increasing prices raised those costs to approximately $46.4 billion in 2004. Price increases of 20% or more on essential items like fertilizer, fuel, and pesticides have made it very difficult for farmers to get by, according to the Congressional Research Service, on November 19, 2004.
And prices for fuel and natural gas are forecast to rise by about 5% in 2006, according to the Department of Energy, coming off last year's 35% hike in diesel and natural gas prices.
In addition to oil companies, major credit card companies are making huge profits from higher gas prices because the fee that banks charge gas station owners to process a credit card transaction is based on a percentage of the purchase price. So, if gas prices rise, the processing fee goes up. On September 25, 2005, columnist, Margaret Webb Pressler, explained the details in the Washington Post:
"So a year ago, when gas prices averaged $1.87, banks involved in credit card processing made about $12.5 million a day on fees. Now, with prices averaging $2.75 nationally, the credit card companies are raking in $18.4 million a day. That is $183 million more a month, or nearly $2.2 billion dollars on an annual basis in extra money paid to the nation's banking giants just because of rising gasoline prices."
Moreover, interest rates are on the rise, which means Americans will be facing higher rates on credit cards.
Fuel prices are at the top of the list of concerns for members of the trucking industry. "Fuel is our second-largest expenditure following labor costs," Tim Lynch, a senior vice president of the American Trucking Associations told reporters on April 24, 2006.
"Fuel expenditures are roughly 20 to 25 percent of total expenditures for a typical trucking company," he said.
ATA predicts the industry will spend $94.3 billion on fuel this year, based on current fuel price forecasts, a $6.6 billion increase over the $87.7 billion spent by trucking in 2005.
The average cost of a gallon of jet fuel has more than doubled since 2000 - from 78 cents-per-gallon in January 2000 to $1.81 per-gallon in January 2006, according to the Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy.
The Air Transport Association expects jet fuel costs to average $70 per barrel or $1.67 per gallon in 2006, a 90% increase since 2001.
According to the ATA, at a usage rate of 19.5 billion gallons of fuel a year, each penny increase in price per gallon adds $195 million in annual costs for the airline industry
Rising costs caused airlines to raise fares 12 times in 2005. Last month, American Airline raised domestic round-trip ticket prices by $10, and in the first quarter of 2006, both Continental and Southwest reported a 5.4% increase in ticket prices, increases that fell short of rising fuel prices, according to Airwise News on April 21, 2006.
Farmers face an increasing cost-price squeeze in 2006, according to economists from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Production costs that increased $28 billion in the past 3 years will increase another $7 billion in 2006, the economists predict. Rising energy prices, including fuel and fertilizer, made up $10 billion of the increase since 2002, they said.
In 2005, farmers spent $3 billion more on fuel and $1.4 billion more on fertilizer than they did in 2004. Natural gas which is 90% of the cost of nitrogen fertilizer is one reason and diesel which has commanded a large per-gallon premium over regular gasoline is another, according to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns remarks to The Second Annual National Agricultural and Forestry Renewable Energy Summit Washington DC on March 8, 2006
In 2002, farmers spent $18.36 billion on energy for crop production. Increasing prices raised those costs to approximately $46.4 billion in 2004. Price increases of 20% or more on essential items like fertilizer, fuel, and pesticides have made it very difficult for farmers to get by, according to the Congressional Research Service, on November 19, 2004.
And prices for fuel and natural gas are forecast to rise by about 5% in 2006, according to the Department of Energy, coming off last year's 35% hike in diesel and natural gas prices.
In addition to oil companies, major credit card companies are making huge profits from higher gas prices because the fee that banks charge gas station owners to process a credit card transaction is based on a percentage of the purchase price. So, if gas prices rise, the processing fee goes up. On September 25, 2005, columnist, Margaret Webb Pressler, explained the details in the Washington Post:
"So a year ago, when gas prices averaged $1.87, banks involved in credit card processing made about $12.5 million a day on fees. Now, with prices averaging $2.75 nationally, the credit card companies are raking in $18.4 million a day. That is $183 million more a month, or nearly $2.2 billion dollars on an annual basis in extra money paid to the nation's banking giants just because of rising gasoline prices."
Moreover, interest rates are on the rise, which means Americans will be facing higher rates on credit cards.
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