Don't be surprised if you have just a little more elbow room on Midwest highways this year than you're used to over Labor Day weekend.
AAA spokesman Gene LaDoucer said surveys of Midwesterners showed that 0.2 percent fewer than last year plan to hit the road this Labor Day weekend. That compares to a paltry increase of 0.2 percent for the U.S. as a whole.
What's more, those surveys were done before the most recent upswing in prices so the number of travelers could drop even more.
Consumers expressed concern about the cost of living and the cost of gas in particular, LaDoucer said.
The price of regular unleaded gas in Minnesota has gone up by about 19 cents per gallon from a year ago, while a gallon of regular in North Dakota is up about
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23 cents. But drivers of diesel-fueled vehicles will do a bit better than last year as the cost for a gallon of diesel is down by more than
16 cents in both states.
Prices in the whole Midwest are elevated because of problems with refineries, including flooding and fire at Midwest facilities, said Gail Weinholzer, Director of Public Affairs with AAA Minnesota/Iowa.
That means there's supply-and-demand issues, LaDoucer said. But it also means higher costs to transport fuel.
"Trucks have been traveling as far as 600 (miles) to bring gas back into" North Dakota, LaDoucer said. "Gas prices will probably continue to move higher over the next few weeks until the issue (with supply) gets resolved."
Wayne Tesmer of Fargo said that gas prices are on his mind, "but not enough to cause me to cancel our travel plans."
And Richard Peterson of Moorhead said the price of gas doesn't impact his decision to travel since he purchased a smaller car this summer.
But not everyone feels that way. Maxine Fagerland of Fargo said her family's travel plans for Labor Day are affected by fuel costs.
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"We are staying rather close to home," she said.
And Mark Ellenson of West Fargo said the cost of fuel is the reason he's not traveling this year. He says the cost of fuel is just too high and that gas should be conserved "for people who really need the gas."
The flat line in the number of travelers may have to do with more than gas prices. Some people may simply have done their traveling on the July 4 holiday when a record 41 million Americans hit the road, Weinholzer said.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Shane Mercer at (701) 451-5734
