SOARING US fuel prices are hitting all modes of transport, squeezing smaller shipping lines amid already-volatile ocean rates, as well as truckers who have to contend with delays in clawing back higher costs, reports the American Journal of Transportation.
Crude oil prices surged to the highest in almost 14 years after the US and UK said they will ban Russian oil imports in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline climbed to record highs just as consumer are already paying higher prices on household products.
Small- and medium sized-importers that are already squeezed by sky-high transoceanic shipping rates could get hit especially hard by the energy-price spike, said Lars Jensen, chief executive officer of Copenhagen-based Vespucci Maritime, a shipping market-analysis firm.
If the US ban on Russian oil sends global energy prices higher, it would create 'upward pressure on spot rates as well - especially since the small, new carriers also have small vessels with high fuel consumption per TEU,' he said.
For trucking fleets - which move 70 per cent of American freight tonnage - the sudden jump in prices is set to hurt smaller operators who have to cover the extra fuel cost on the spot and wait for surcharges to be reimbursed, said American Trucking Associations economist Bob Costello.
'I'm more worried about cash flow as these prices go up, because they're not getting paid from their customer for probably 30 days or more,' Mr Costello said.
It's too soon to say how much of the fuel-cost increase will be passed on to consumers, and when, but it is something individual retailers are weighing.
Said National Retail Federation vice president Jonathan Gold: 'Increased costs will likely be shared among companies along the supply chain.'
SeaNews Turkey
Crude oil prices surged to the highest in almost 14 years after the US and UK said they will ban Russian oil imports in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline climbed to record highs just as consumer are already paying higher prices on household products.
Small- and medium sized-importers that are already squeezed by sky-high transoceanic shipping rates could get hit especially hard by the energy-price spike, said Lars Jensen, chief executive officer of Copenhagen-based Vespucci Maritime, a shipping market-analysis firm.
If the US ban on Russian oil sends global energy prices higher, it would create 'upward pressure on spot rates as well - especially since the small, new carriers also have small vessels with high fuel consumption per TEU,' he said.
For trucking fleets - which move 70 per cent of American freight tonnage - the sudden jump in prices is set to hurt smaller operators who have to cover the extra fuel cost on the spot and wait for surcharges to be reimbursed, said American Trucking Associations economist Bob Costello.
'I'm more worried about cash flow as these prices go up, because they're not getting paid from their customer for probably 30 days or more,' Mr Costello said.
It's too soon to say how much of the fuel-cost increase will be passed on to consumers, and when, but it is something individual retailers are weighing.
Said National Retail Federation vice president Jonathan Gold: 'Increased costs will likely be shared among companies along the supply chain.'
SeaNews Turkey