06/11/2022
As gas prices surge across the Valley to an average of more than $5 a gallon, landscape companies and independent lawn design contractors are struggling to make ends meet.
On Thursday morning, AAA reported that an average gallon of regular gasoline in Pennsylvania was now $5.03, 24 cents higher than last week.
“Things are twice as tough as last year. If you think about it, gas is up 50-60 percent over last year,” said Brandon Hunt, owner of Brandon’s Lawn Maintenance in Sunbury.
Zachary Peachey, general manager and director of operations, J.C. Landscapes, of Lewisburg, agreed that the “cost of gas this month is about twice as much as the same time last year. Our budget increase for fuel has for sure doubled.”
Hunt said the higher prices have “dipped into his profits. A lot. You know, I’m just a small-town guy just starting out. Last year I was part-time, this year, full-time.”
By May 20, he said, “I spent about a thousand dollars on gasoline alone. That right there is a lot. Last year, about the same time, I spent about $500. So now it’s $500 more than I would have spent last year. That’s a chunk of change, especially when you are raising a family.”
Peachey also said that in May the cost of fuel “was roughly a thousand dollars.”
Peachey’s customers also understand why prices had to be raised.
“For us, we have done our best to implement a fuel surcharge. We have been super thankful to all of our customers for understanding,” he said. “We’re not making any more money by implementing a surcharge, but we are trying to recoup some of our costs through the surcharge.”
Gas prices are really putting pressure on landscapers, Peachey said. “Everything we do is run with fuel, trimmers, mowers, trucks. All of this has made it harder to know where to put our prices. and having to make more time to actually track stuff.”
Hunt also said his customers understand the situation, and why he had a price increase at the beginning of the year, to accommodate equipment prices. He now adds a fuel surcharge for some of the bigger properties.
Prices still risingThe cost of gasoline is increasing rapidly in part due to seasonal trends and the rising cost of crude oil, said Jim Garrity, of AAA Central Pa.
The cost of a barrel of oil is nearing $120, nearly double from last August, as increased oil demand outpaces the tight global supply, Garrity explained. Meanwhile, domestic gasoline demand rose last week in the wake of a robust Memorial Day weekend of travel.
These supply and demand dynamics have contributed to rising pump prices.
“Coupled with volatile crude oil prices, pump prices will likely remain elevated as long as demand grows and supply remains tight,” Garrity said.
As gas prices surge across the Valley to an average of more than $5 a gallon, landscape companies and independent lawn design contractors are struggling to make ends meet.
