As conflict in the Middle East pushes global fuel prices higher, Canadian businesses that rely on gasoline say the impact is already hitting their bottom line, and they warn consumers to prepare for it to show up on their own receipts.<\/p>\n
The national average price of gas has climbed 11 cents since Sunday, a jump that\u2019s squeezing companies whose operations depend on daily driving.<\/p>\n
For Flash Express Courier in Calgary, which specializes in delivering pharmaceutical products, the rising cost of fuel has already forced an increase to its fuel surcharge. Owner Drilon Beqa says the stakes are high for the customers they serve.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe deal with a lot of specialty pharmacies, which the people that receive these medications need them, some of them on a daily basis,\u201d Beqa said.<\/p>\n
Gig workers are feeling the strain too. Part\u2011time Uber driver Harpreet Singh says there\u2019s a limit to how much he can absorb before it no longer makes sense to stay on the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the gas prices are up, it will impact the market,\u201d Singh said, adding that if prices spike further, he may have to stop driving altogether.<\/p>\n
Experts warn that the effects won\u2019t be confined to the pump. If instability in Iran continues, transportation costs could ripple through the entire supply chain.<\/p>\n
Samuel Roscoe, a professor at the University of British Columbia, says consumers should expect to see the consequences in grocery aisles and beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would expect if we have a couple of weeks, three weeks to a month, that we are going to see those costs of transport embedded into the costs of strawberries, fruits, vegetables, as well as other packaged products,\u201d Roscoe said.<\/p>\n
Back in Calgary, Beqa is hoping the surge doesn\u2019t escalate into something more severe.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully we can have a resolution to this and it doesn\u2019t keep going up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n