The latest Equipment World reader poll found that 81.5% of respondents have made at least one change to their day-to-day business strategy in the last 30 days in response to rising diesel fuel prices.
The most common action among respondents, at 40.3%, was raising bid prices or hourly rates, followed by adding fuel surcharges to contracts, at 31.1%. Respondents could select more than one option in the poll.
In all, the online poll on equipmentworld.com generated 119 responses from contractors, equipment dealers and manufacturers May 7 to 15.
Since the onset of the Iran War on February 28, retail diesel prices in the U.S. have risen to levels not seen since the beginning of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports average retail diesel prices jumped from $3.80 a gallon on February 23 to $4.86 on March 9, and most recently came in at $5.52 as of May 25.
Other methods Equipment World readers are using to offset rising diesel costs included:
- Reducing machine idle time, at 28.6%
- Passing on fuel costs to customers through contract adjustments, 26.9%
- Delaying nonessential equipment use, 22.7%
- Consolidating equipment moves and truck loads, 21.9%
Just 18.5% of responding readers said they had taken no action in their business to offset rising diesel fuel prices in the last 30 days, and only 15.1% said they’d resorted to bulk-buying or locking in fuel pricing.
When asked how much rising diesel prices had raised their business expenses in the last 30 days, 62.6% reported costs of $10,000 or less, with 16.2% reporting added expenses only under $1,000. Just 7.1% of responding readers said rising diesel prices had cost their business over $50,000 in the past 30 days.
Equipment World’s online poll series examines the latest trends in the industry and provides insights into what contractors are thinking. Got a burning question we should ask? Send it to Jordanne Waldschmidt at [email protected].
