High gas prices fuel economic hardship

By Joseph Mann
and Michael Turnbell Staff Writers
Posted March 19 2005

…If crude prices remain at levels above $55 a barrel or more, pump prices will continue to rise as higher priced crude passes through the U.S. and gas distribution system…

…Mark Kerney, president of Hill-York Service Corp., a Fort Lauderdale air-conditioning repair service with 125 vehicles, says his gasoline bills went from $35,000 to $45,000 a month over the past four months…

…For Boynton Beach towing company owner Drew Zuccala, fuel makes up 30 percent of his budget. He already raised his rates at the beginning of the year because of higher fuel prices. But if a gallon of gasoline hits $2.50 or higher, he’ll have to add a separate fuel charge, Zuccala said.

His tow trucks get about 4 miles to the gallon and hold between 100 and 500 gallons.

Landscapers and nursery owners are also feeling the sting of higher fuel prices. After last year’s hurricanes, Art of Palms Landscaping & Nursery in Loxahatchee spent $4,000 in fuel between clean-up and generator costs. The company pick-up truck is using $10 every other day because gas prices have increased. As fuel prices have climbed, so have the company’s prices for landscaping and plants…

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