Volatile gas industry causes headache for Metro Detroit gas station owners

The price at the pump keeps going up, with some gas stations in Metro Detroit reaching $5. 

"We had a gas order on April 11 that was $13,000, which was two weeks ago. Our gas order now is $23,000. In a matter of two weeks, it jumped by $10,000," said Quadonna Greer.

Along with drivers, gas station owners are also feeling sticker shock. On Wednesday, the average price in Michigan was $4.25, according to AAA. Within 24 hours, the state average price rose by 33 cents to $4.58. Gas station owners expect it to rise to $5.

"Our last gas order, we paid $4.42, and right now we're at [charging] $4.39, so we're losing, so we have to make a decision as a business. Do we go up? That way, we can make 5 cents a gallon or stay where we're at to attract customers to come and buy other stuff in here like pop," Greer said.

The Greer family has owned their gas station since 2020, located on Van Dyke and Nett Street in Detroit. Over time, the family says, nearby business closures and rising gas prices have created a domino effect, leading to fewer customers filling up.

"Some people are coming in here with $2, you know, some people are scraping up the change in their car," Greer told CBS News Detroit.

AAA data showed that gas prices in Michigan one week ago were around $3.88 a gallon.

"More than two-thirds of our transactions are credit card transactions, so credit card companies charge a percentage of the dollar, not a percentage of the gallon," said Sam Bakkal, who has owned his gas station for 30 years.

Bakkal says costs like credit card fees are up, but he doesn't want to pass them on to customers.

"When prices go up, we start losing familiar faces and gaining new faces, because everyone's thinking... oh my god, this location went up, let me find a different location," Bakkal said.

Each week, he says he buys about 10,000 gallons of gas. But his most recent purchase has exceeded anything in the past two months.

"It's going to cost $11K-$12K more than the previous one, minimum," he said.