You may be experiencing some pain at the pump as gas prices continue to rise. However, those hikes have an impact on far more than just the expense of driving your car.
The figures appear to be increasing all the time. According to AAA, the average price of regular gas in the Chattanooga metro area is currently $4.01, up from $3.48 just a week ago. That’s a little less than the current state and national averages, but it’s still the highest price for Chattanooga that AAA has ever seen.
As we chatted with Chattanoogan Patrick Mongoven at a local gas station, he remarked, “It’s 58 bucks for 14 gallons, that’s a little more than I’m used to.” “I didn’t even think about the price until you mentioned it, and it’s a lot.”
However, if you’re driving a truck as large as Darrell Pendergraph’s, the price increases are considerably more evident.
“We could have filled this truck full for around $320 three months ago. It cost $800 and change to fuel this truck the other day “He informed us on Wednesday. “It’s incredible. I’ve been driving trucks since 1982. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
Pendergraph, a truck driver from the Chattanooga area, travels approximately 3,000 miles every week hauling goods to local grocery stores. He predicts that when transportation prices rise, shops will follow suit.
“The transportation business isn’t going to absorb that gasoline cost,” he added, “so it’ll have to be passed on to the customer at the grocery store.” “When [customers] come in to buy food, they’re going to have to spend a lot more.”
The owner of Chattanooga’s Asian Food & Gift Store, Paul Del Carmen, says he’s already experiencing the pricing pressure.
“Our supplier has sent us notice and informed us that all products will be increased in price in April,” he explained.
Del Carmen claims that in his 42 years of running the business, this is the most difficult one for keeping the pricing of goods under control.
“We simply don’t have enough room to take it in. As a result, we must pass it on to the consumer. That, I believe, applies to any business owner out there “he stated
Zach Strickland works at FreightWaves, a logistics startup, as a supply chain expert. According to him, growing transportation costs have a greater influence than most customers realize.
“Everything that moves on a truck, from food to furniture to any durable commodity, is now going to have an added piece of pressure on it, compounding the inflationary pressure that was already there,” he said, adding that the increases may not be noticed immediately.
Furthermore, he claims that production disruptions caused by the Ukraine conflict can affect the price of commodities such as grain on a local level. He claims that while the United States does not use a large amount of Ukrainian grain goods, many countries in that region do. Due to a reduction in Ukrainian supply, U.S. products are expected to suffer.
“Demand for our grain is going to rise, putting upward pressure on the pricing of the grains we produce,” Strickland predicted.
Strickland claims that we were already seeing significant inflation because to pandemic-related supply delays, transportation challenges, and skyrocketing demand before the Ukraine conflict added extra pressure to some gasoline and food expenses.
“There was this unanticipated demand, but also production shortages,” he added, “because people were sick or had to quarantine.”
Unfortunately, the present price pressure on petrol, transportation, and food will almost certainly affect your wallet.
“When I go outside to shop or purchase something, I’m also a consumer,” Del Carmen explained. “I can feel the pressure that everything out there has been rising up so high, and it’s really hard for middle-income families.”