High Gas Prices Continue to Hurt Landscape Professionals

Jon Pogue estimates he spends $2,000 more a month to fuel his vehicles and equipment for his landscaping business than he spent one year ago.

For Pogue, who owns A Plus Landscaping in Gurnee, Mich., the high cost of gasoline and diesel fuel is having a negative impact on his bottom line.

"Everything we run runs on gasoline and diesel fuel," Pogue said. "It's costing me more for fuel now than insurance. It's gotten to be a lot more expensive."

"It's been a pretty big increase. It's just like an additional tax," he said.

Pogue's case is not isolated. High gas prices and the sluggish economy have hurt the entire landscaping industry this year, said Scott Grams, executive director of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, which represents about 850 landscaping businesses statewide.

"It's really a perfect storm with the economy starting to slow and gas prices at an all time high," Grams said.

"Fuel is a major part of this business and when it goes up our members feel the pinch. It's not only the cost of gasoline to power the mowers and equipment. It's also the cost of diesel fuel for trucks to get to and from the job sites."

Bob Kinnucan, president of Kinnucan Tree Expert and Landscaping Co. in Lake Bluff, Mich., said the landscaping business got off to a slow start because of rainy weather in the spring and high gas prices have only made matters worse.

"Our fuel costs have nearly doubled in the past six months and in addition our fertilizers and other chemicals we purchase have at least doubled. We're seeing real inflation here," he said.

"It's affecting our profits. Also, because our operating costs have gone up we've had to increase our prices to maintain reasonable profit levels," he said.

Kinnucan said some of their customers are cutting back on the amount of landscaping work they want done because they don't have as much disposal income to spend.

"In some of the western suburbs, we're seeing people are more price conscious and less inclined to purchase additional services," he said.

Edgar Lopez, owner of All Seasons Landscaping in Waukegan, Mich., which does landscaping for residential and commercial customers throughout the county from Lake Villa to Gurnee and the North Shore, said he was forced to raise prices this spring because of the escalating costs of gasoline and diesel fuel.

Lopez estimates he probably lost between 5 to 10 percent of his customers when he initially raised rates but so far most of the customers have been pretty understanding of the situation.

If gas prices stabilize as they have in the past month, he thinks the business will be fine but if prices start to rise again he fears he could lose more customers.

"I think there will be a breaking point at some point," he said. "If gas prices go up to $6, $7 or $8 a gallon, at that point there will be a major problem. I believe people can only afford so much."