JACKSON, Mich. — The owner of J. Alexander's Florist says high fuel prices are raising expenses and wait times on deliveries.
- High fuel prices are raising costs and delivery wait times for local businesses.
- A lemon tree that usually takes three to four weeks to arrive recently took four months.
- A finance professor says small businesses may face tough choices if fuel prices stay high.
Hope Weishaupt said fuel charges, weight charges and other costs have increased. Much of the shop's inventory is grown out of state or out of the country.
To manage the higher costs, Weishaupt said she has adjusted how often she places orders.
"We try to, instead of maybe ordering once a week or twice a week, maybe it's once every other week," Weishaupt said.
Longer waits for specialty items
Weishaupt said wait times have also grown for specialty items. A lemon tree that typically takes three to four weeks to arrive recently took four months.
Spring Arbor University Professor of Finance Randall Lewis said high fuel prices have lowered the quantity of overall deliveries around the world.
"[Fuel prices] will cause them to wait until they have enough goods to ship, let's say the ships are completely full. Things like that that will cause like a slower delivery," Lewis said.
No clear end in sight
Lewis said there is no way to know when fuel prices will go down, but small businesses may have to make tough choices if prices remain high.
"They can't keep going forever with these increased fuel costs," Lewis said.
Weishaupt said she has not raised prices yet, but the overall bottom line has changed.
"Yes it's not as much for me and not as much for the employees," Weishaupt said.
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