Regular Gas Prices Have Risen to Nearly $5 per Gallon in Maryland, AAA Says
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The average price of regular gas in Maryland is inching closer to $5 per gallon.
AAA reported that the average price of regular in Maryland was up to $4.98 on Wednesday, an increase of nearly 40 cents from a week ago.
"It's frustrating for everyone. No one can afford to pay gas like this," said a man named "K" from Northeast Baltimore.
As the price of fuel gets higher, the cost of goods and services is increasing on some goods, like in the landscaping industry.
"Our trucks, our mowers, the materials that we buy that use gas to produce them and we ultimately have to pass that along to the consumer," said Brad Crist, the owner of SBC Outdoor Services in Linthicum Heights.
Crist said a three to five percent fuel charge is being added to landscaping bills to pay for the more expensive gas, which powers many of the vehicles his company uses to complete work.
The cost of materials like mulch is going up too.
"Mulch prices are up because it takes machinery and gas to chip up the mulch and then ultimately deliver it out to the job sites," he said.
Not only do the higher gas prices get passed on to consumers, they can also affect consumer behavior which can also cause price increases, said Professor of Accounting at Loyola University Maryland JP Krahel.
"Psychologically, you got to figure, if consumers are spending more for gas, they have less discretionary income available for other stuff, so retailers feel the pinch so then they raise the prices accordingly because they're selling fewer goods," said Professor Krahel.
Krahel said he expects to see more online shopping and fewer people eating out and ordering in instead to save money on gas.