High fuel costs prompt moving companies to raise prices, adjust operations

LAS VEGAS — Planning a move soon? Expect to pay a lot more.

With gasoline and diesel prices at all-time highs, some moving companies are passing the cost onto their customers.

It’s going to cost a pretty penny to move with $5-per-gallon fuel prices.

Some moving companies can’t absorb the high costs any longer, and they’re either raising rates or turning down jobs altogether.

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At $5 a gallon, a semitrailer moving truck can cost up to $1,500 for a single fill-up.

“We go through about 1,000 to 1,200 gallons of fuel a day between our whole operation,” said Tom Dadon, owner of Triple 7 Movers in Las Vegas. “So every 15-, 20-cent increase in fuel prices causes a massive increase for our bottom line.” 

The high fuel prices are forcing companies like Triple 7 Movers to adjust their operations.

“We’ve had numerous rounds of price increases in the last two years. I would say an average out-of-state move has probably doubled in the last two years since COVID,” Dadon said.

Triple 7 Movers serves a lot of California customers and may reconsider some out-of-state jobs.

Triple 7 Movers in Las Vegas has adjusted its operations following the spike in gas and diesel prices.  (Ashley Soriano/Fox Business)

“Two or three months ago, if a job was, you know, 300 miles out of route off of the main interstate, we’d be able to service it,” Dadon said. “Whereas now maybe we pass on a job or add a surcharge for an out-of-road surcharge, whereas before we could just absorb the costs and just make sure to service the customer.”

Maury Kimball is a real estate broker from Salt Lake City who is moving over 400 miles to Las Vegas.

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One moving company gave him a quote of $6,000.

“Definitely thought of, you know, cutting down the amount of things that I took with me, you know, just taking the bare necessities,” Kimball said.

His cross-country move from Atlanta to Salt Lake City 15 years ago cost him under $5,000.

Truck rates and gas prices weren’t as high back then, he said. 

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“I think if I were moving coast to coast today, I would consider just selling everything,” Kimball said.

On top of that, companies are still recovering from pandemic-induced supply chain issues, which also drove prices up.