Rising Cost in Gas Means Rising Costs in Delivery Services

The rising gas prices mean rising costs for services you may not even think about.

The Flower Station in Traverse City said they make about 20-30 deliveries a day, all across Northwest Michigan.

“We go everywhere, Maple City, Suttons Bay, Williamsburg, we do all of that outline that most people don’t do,” said The Flower Station Manager Cindy Birchard. “That driver’s on the road a good hour, and we’re filling the van every day.”

The higher gas prices forced The Flower Station to make a difficult decision.

“We’ve had to raise delivery prices,” said Birchard. “For years in the floral industry, deliveries were free, and now I’ve even had to raise them more because I didn’t want to raise the flower prices. It was one or the other.”

Birchard said they’ve also had to pay an $18.50 delivery surcharge twice a week when they’re delivered fresh flowers.

“We didn’t have that before, but I understand it,” she said. “Can’t work for free, no one can.”

Grand Bay Moving and Storage in Traverse City moves people, and their belongings, statewide.

They’ve seen the statewide fuel surcharge increase to $2.10 a mile.

“When you do an intrastate move, which is a more than a local move, but still within Michigan, we’re required to charge the fuel surcharge,” said part-owner Terry Sonneveldt. “That’s reflective of the fuel prices every month, and it’s a per mile charge that the customer will have to pay.”

The surcharge changes from month to month, but from January 2022 to March 2022, the .

“That can be a few hundred dollars, $400-500,” said Sonneveldt. “It adds up, and it’s all dependent on distance.”

Higher fuel prices have turned the conversation toward raising their own prices on local moves.

“This is a slow season for us right now, so we’ve held off for now, but definitely thinking about that going forward,” said Sonneveldt.

Right now, they say, it’s a difficult time to be a small business owner.

“Just the fact that it costs more now as a small business owner,” said Sonneveldt. “You only have so many resources, and when the gas prices are taking more of that up, there’s less money to do other things.”

“There’s been so many changes and things happening since Covid,” said Birchard. “When you’re already struggling, it makes it hard to be a small business owner.”