Fuel costs adding to small business worry

Monday, 13th June 2011

As the hard times continue to bite, it is the small businesses that are really feeling the impact, especially with the constant rise in fuel bills. Oil prices are still on the rise and this is hitting businesses hard in not only heating costs but transport costs too. There is a fear amongst many businesses now that as road fuel costs rise, it will cost up supplies and deliveries which will have an impact on inflation.

Rail transport has also been hit and although rises oil usually see a trend in more commodities moving to the railway for transportation, there is no silver lining to the surge in energy prices according to one expert, "You are paying at the pump sooner than what they are able to recover from our customers". "But the biggest issue is the effect it has on the consumer," he warned. "It is taking away money that they can spend and that translates into a drag on the economy, and that means there are less loads in our system as a whole".

Small and medium sized businesses (SME) are usually the ones to suffer as they do not have the buffer to withstand the harder times. Certainly their energy costs make up a bigger percentage of the overall costs than those of a bigger company.

Cost Saving Expert cannot say that oil prices will fall that much, so businesses need to start planning now for tougher times ahead. A company must look into its transportation methods, whether that is running fleets of vans, deliveries or just from suppliers costs. Company cars are a large burden and also expensive for the individual, so may be it is time to offer different incentives to staff. Look at all your transportation costs and start planning ahead now for further cost increases in this area of your business and we can help you to reduce them now.

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