As gas prices rise, writes Justine Griffin, professional landscapers must raise their rates to defray the cost, or face going out of business. With prices expected to go above $4.00 per gallon across the United States over the summer, this could result in their fees rising in price greatly.
Unlike home owners, who only have to pay for the gas to power equipment, professionals also need to pay for the gasoline to power their trucks and pull the heavy trailers full of equipment. Many landscapers are still using a full roster of gasoline-powered equipment due to the fact they are easy to transport and are not dependent on battery charges or extension cords – you just pull the cord and go. Home owners can go for gasoline-powered, cordless electric, or corded electric – it all depends on the layout of their lawn and garden.
This dependence on gas-powered equipment and gas-guzzling trucks that get only 12-18 miles to the gallon to haul equipment means that even a slight raise in gas prices can cause business owners to need to consider raising rates. As there has been a number of raises over the last few years, landscapers have no choice now.
The rising gas prices will likely encourage more homeowners who have some flexibility in time to go from using landscapers to learning to do some of the work on their own, in order to save money in the long run. By getting away from landscapers if they can, the home owners will also help to protect themselves from further fluctuations in price down the line.
Expect to see further fluctuations as time goes by, as we’ll likely see gas prices drop over the winter, then rebound to even higher rates again next summer, as predicted by Gas Buddy in the article. The more you can do to reduce the impact – using electric tools, doing work yourself instead of hiring someone who has to drive to your place to do the work – the more cash you’ll have on hand.
