The hot topic at a meeting of yard managers and owners of Anaheim’s Ganahl Lumber Co. last week: gas.
Ganahl, which runs eight hardware and lumber stores in and around Orange County, spends $400,000 a year on diesel for its 60 delivery trucks. These days, the going rate for a gallon of diesel is more than $3.
The owners and managers took all of 10 minutes to hear presentations on rising diesel costs, and then promptly voted to up delivery fees 11% to $50 per load, according to John Ganahl, chief financial officer of the family-run, 800-worker company.
The vote to raise delivery costs was a no-brainer, Ganahl said. The owners and managers spent more time,an hour,debating whether to buy red vests for cashiers and salespeople.
“Fuel is an economic issue that is easy to define,” Ganahl said. “The uniforms, which we’ve decided to buy, were our biggest, and lengthiest discussion.”
The company isn’t alone as oil flirts with $70 a barrel. High oil prices are working their way through everyday life at businesses across the county.
Roger Chen, owner of Tawa Supermarkets Co., the Buena Park-based parent of the 99 Ranch chain of Asian supermarkets, said he’s seen ripple effects.
“For sure, it’s a bigger impact on transportation costs,” Chen said.
Tawa has absorbed higher transportation costs without raising prices at his store, Chen said.
Trucking companies also are on the front line.
Christopher Logan, senior vice president of marketing with Santa Ana-based GeoLogistics Corp., said his transportation company has passed along fuel surcharges from global air carriers and ocean shipping lines.
“From what we’ve seen, the economy has been quite resilient, and it continues to be strong in the U.S., and internationally,” he said.
For more on this story, see the Aug. 29 edition of the Business Journal.
