LAS VEGAS -- A gallon of regular gasoline costs 12 cents more in the Las Vegas metro area Tuesday than it did a month ago but prices remain well below record levels, according to the daily AAA Fuel Gauge Report.
Regular gas is averaging $3.54 a gallon now, compared to $3.42 last month, still well below the record $4.22 a gallon recorded in Southern Nevada on June 22, 2008. A year ago, regular gas in Las Vegas was $3.27 a gallon. Prices are expected to hit $4 a gallon or more by Memorial Day.
The high prices actually hit consumers twice. Once at the pump when they fill up their cars; then again when companies pass their higher fuel costs on. Trucking companies are some businesses that suffer the most when gas prices skyrocket. They say they will have no choice but to pass that cost onto stores, which will end up passing the extra cost on to shoppers.
Vegas Trucking Company is one of the oldest family run transportation companies in Las Vegas. Owner Chris Conte says the high price of diesel has forced him to cut back. He says the economy combined with the price of fuel is hurting business. Conte says he is forced to pass that cost onto his customers and other companies will likely do that same.
"When the fuel prices go up, we incur a big expense. It is an expense we did not plan on. It was not in our budget. So, we have to plan on how we are going to adjust and digest that charge, and what we do is pass that on to the customer," Conte said.
Conte says driving to California is very expensive. Diesel is well over $4 a gallon there and regular gasoline is averaging $4.04. Nevada, with an average price of $3.58 a gallon for regular, ranks 19th among the 50 states and is one penny above the national average. Hawaii has the nation's most expensive gas at $4.25 a gallon for regular. At the other end of the spectrum is Wyoming at slightly below $3.05 a gallon.
