High fuel prices are here for the summer

Dave Waggoner, a driver from Kansas City, who drove to Nevada to meet with another driver from Springfield for a delivery, fills up the tank on the company truck he drives. Diesel prices have made it difficult for owner-operators to afford to stay in business and Waggoner said that he is glad that budgeting funds for fuel isn't his concern. "I'm glad I don't have to pay for it," he said.

By Ben Holman

Nevada Daily Mail

The going rate for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline has nearly reached the $2 mark in Nevada. Most gas stations around town are selling 87 octane unleaded at $1.97 and diesel at $2.09.

While Nevada residents, and people across the nation, are feeling the pinch, most experts agree that the high prices at the pump will not change American driving habits -- but some local folks report they'll make a few changes to compensate for the cost.

According to Michael Right, vice president of public affairs for AAA Missouri, the high pump prices are being driven mainly by two factors -- high crude oil prices and a poor futures market. Right said that crude oil is currently trading at $54-$55 per barrel. Those high prices translate to high at-the-pump prices for consumers.

According to the US Department of Energy, the national average price-per-gallon for regular unleaded is expected to reach $2.15 in the next few weeks.

"The good news for Missourians is that Missouri is traditionally 5 cents to 15 cents lower than the national average,"' said Right.

That lower cost is due to Missouri having one of the lowest gas taxes in the nation, coupled with no sales tax on fuel and relatively low fuel transportation costs into Missouri.

Although the $2.15 per gallon price would be a new record high for gasoline, the highest price ever, after adjusting for inflation, occurred in March of 1981, when prices soared to a level that would translate to $3.08 per gallon in today's dollars, according to a Reuters report.

According to GasPriceWatch.com, Nevada is coming in at 5 cents under the national average of $2.02 per gallon. The highest price in the nation, as of Wednesday afternoon, was $2.70 in Needles, Calif.

Around Nevada, many people are revising their travel plans due to fuel costs. Some residents say they are cutting trips short to save on hotel and other costs in order to make up for the high fuel costs.

According to Tom Jennings, a Nevada resident, his son is not planning on taking his family anywhere for spring break because of the high fuel costs.

"No one's going anywhere right now," he said. He said that he is living on a fixed income and has to adjust his driving habits in order to compensate for high gas prices, "I'm retired and I can't do much of anything."

The price on the pump rolled past $5 as he filled up a small gas can, and Jennings recalled gas prices from his youth, "When I was a kid, I sold gas for 7 cents a gallon. That was in 1957."

Robert Jutson, an over-the-road truck driver from Fort Worth, Texas, stopped in Nevada Wednesday. He said that the high cost of fuel had hit him hard.

"I'm in a company truck now. I just sold mine because I spent $50,000 on fuel last year."

High fuel prices are not only dreaded by consumers -- owners of fueling stations don't like to see high prices either. Dawn Howell, manager of the Jump gas station in Nevada, said that she has noticed an increase in the number of drive-offs in the past few weeks. The high prices make some people more willing to take the risk, she said.

Other gas station owners and managers said that they haven't seen an increase in drive-offs but said they thought this is due largely to the fact that they are small operations and the pumps are in plain view of the clerks at all times.

"I haven't had a drive-off in over two months," said Elton Fox, manager of the Fastrip at Ash and Highland. "We get mostly neighborhood people here, I think drive offs are more of a problem for the stores on the highway."

The high prices haven't slowed demand, however.

"I don't see travel declining, there is a continuing strong demand in spite of high prices," said Right.

Larry Boyle and his wife Marguerite haven't let the high prices waylay their eight-month excursion. The retired Connecticut couple has been traveling the country since last June, when they hooked up their fifth-wheel to their pickup and headed out.

"Oklahoma was probably the lowest I've seen at about $2.05 (for diesel)," said Larry. The highest he said he paid was $2.30 to $2.35 in California. "I figure whatever it is, that's what it's gonna be ... we cut back on other things to make up the difference," he said.

Rich says that drivers shouldn't expect a reprieve from high gas prices before the summer's over. Department of Energy estimates say that gas prices should average around $2.10 per gallon throughout the heavy summer driving season.