St. Joseph Equipment
St. Joseph Equipment technician goes over a new tractor with owners.
St. Joseph Equipment is a farm, construction and forestry equipment dealer that can have as many as 50 vehicles on the road at any time.
So when gas prices went up, the La Crosse, Wis., business, felt the pinch.
The company's fuel prices rose 30% over a year, forcing its owners to pass the additional costs to their customers.
"We have to be careful what our competition is doing," said co-owner Sherry Wuebben, adding, "we are certainly passing on as much as we can."
And if gas prices keep on their trajectory, they may have to increase the mileage cost yet again. Wuebben's team can travel as much as 100 miles for a customer. "We can't move our customers any closer," she said. "We go where our customers need us to be."
Higher prices at the pump make customers less inclined to make purchases, so that could hurt us as well, said Wuebben. --CC
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