Fluctuating gas prices have been a challenge during the past few years, according to officials with Community First, whose fleet of 22 vehicles transports older adults in Butler County to doctor’s appointments, the grocery store, and delivers more than 168,000 meals annually through its Meals on Wheels program.
“We average about 1,600 gallons of fuel per month in 22 vehicles, so the way fuel prices fluctuate greatly affects our bottom line,” said Emily Glaser, a spokeswoman for Community First.
Average gas prices in the Cincinnati area ticked up 17 cents Thursday, to $2.48 for a gallon of regular unleaded, but are still about $1.17 lower than they were a year ago, according to cincygasprices.com.
The lower gas prices are a welcome change for Community First and other transportation-based businesses in the county.
“Whenever you can save on fuel costs it helps pay for unexpected costs like maintenance or repair,” Glaser said. “If there are significant savings, it can allow you to expand your business to help even more people.”
Fairfield-based Pro Fast Delivery offers 24/7 courier service for anything from a single envelope to 10 shipping pallets to destinations both in the region and beyond.
“(Lower gas prices) have helped with our drivers because it’s all independent contractors, and for us it helped us keep the fuel surcharges to a minimum,” said Jason Zagotti, operations manager for Pro Fast Delivery.
The company guarantees 90-minute express delivery service to Tri-State locations along with options for three-hour and five-hour deliveries.
"There's been an increase in savings, but more so that our drivers are not afraid to get out there and be productive, which is very important," Zagotti said.
Economists say the benefits from cheaper gas accrue slowly over time. As a result, changes in behavior are often seen only after three to six months.
Drivers will see the lowest summer gasoline prices in about six years, according to the Energy Department.
The national average price is forecast to fall 32 percent from a year ago to $2.45 a gallon between April and September, the period when Americans do most of their driving. That would mark the lowest seasonal average since 2009.
For the year, the department’s Energy Information Administration expects gasoline to average $2.40 a gallon, down from $3.36 in 2014.
Economic growth has been limited because of the choice to save, since consumer spending accounts for roughly 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.
“It’s odd, consumers have held back on spending even as they pocket a nice windfall from lower gasoline prices,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist at the Bank of the West.
There are two likely explanations for why consumers have been hesitant to spend: Either they assume that gas prices will once again climb back to previous levels. Or, the unusually harsh winter weather prevented them from shopping at the start of the year. The warmer spring weather and continued low gas prices projected by the government should lead more Americans to increase their spending in the coming months, Anderson said.
While this winter might not have been quite as dire as the Polar Vortex of 2014, economists blame the lack of spending outside restaurants and cars on cold weather. Parts of New England saw record amounts of snow this winter. Other regions saw weeks of bone-chilling temperatures.
“It’s like deja vu all over again,” says Brett Ryan, an economist at Deutsche Bank. “We had a bunch of adverse weather over the past couple of months and that’s clouding the consumer spending picture at the moment.”
Economists also argue that Americans could be using gas savings to help pay off debt — student loans, down payment or something else.
For Liberty Twp. resident Ralph Burns, who was filling up his car’s gas tank Thursday at the Kroger Fuel Center on Yankee Road, this year’s lower gas prices mean “a whole lot.”
“It saves you a lot of money,” he said. “I just like cheaper gas prices.”
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