Gas prices — and complaints about them — may be at record highs, but Americans don't appear to be letting that get in the way of their holiday travel plans.
An estimated 38 million Americans, 1.7 percent more than last year, are expected to travel 50 miles or more this Memorial Day weekend, according to the AAA. About 83 percent of them will drive.
That makes this the busiest travel weekend in U.S. history — and probably the most expensive. On Friday, the national average for regular unleaded dropped a fraction of a penny, but remained at a record $3.23 a gallon, AAA said. When adjusted for inflation, the current price is just 6 cents lower than the all-time high set in March 1981.
Gas prices can't keep travelers at home
The soaring prices have been a "serious hardship" for almost half of those polled in an Associated Press-Ipsos survey released Friday.
To offset the added costs, some Americans are spending less on other items or thinking of buying more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Others, like Stefan Chou, are taking small steps to save, such as slowing down on the highway. The sophomore at the University of Texas at Dallas, back in Houston for the summer, figures he can get more miles per gallon by reducing his highway speed to 50-to-60 mph. He used to drive about 75 mph.
"I noticed a change of a little bit," said Chou, who pumped $15 worth of gas into his 1995 Toyota Camry Friday morning at a Chevron station on Loop 610 in southwest Houston.
Refinery outages
Gas prices are up this year after an unprecedented amount of refinery outages this spring and amid lower gas imports and higher demand. Though most refineries have been brought back online and imports are rising, the U.S. Energy Department predicts gas prices will remain in the $3 range for most of the summer.
That's bad news for drivers who say they've had to cut back while pump prices are high.
"I used to go out and spend time with my friends, or go out to eat with my wife and family, but I do that a lot less now," said Jamayamon Bandele, 24, a substitute teacher from Houston, as he filled up at a Stripes station at Southmore and Texas 288.
"I try not to leave my house as much, except for work and to get my son," said Teila Casel, 21, a local Target employee. "And I also don't run my air conditioning now, and that's what I really need because it's so hot here."
The burden of higher gas prices tends to hit low- and middle-income groups the hardest.
In 2005, for instance, the bottom 80 percent of U.S. households devoted about 5 percent of their spending to gasoline, while the top 20 percent spent 3.5 percent, according to an analysis of government data by Global Insight. The impact is even greater today, the firm said.
Because it is difficult to change driving habits quickly, many consumers will seek relief by dipping into savings, racking up more credit card debt and spending less on eating out and other outings, according to a report this week by the nonprofit Center for American Progress.
Effect on other sales
Last week, Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, said gas prices were one of the top three concerns among its bargain-seeking customers. The effect of gas prices will be addressed next week at the company's annual shareholder meeting, said Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley.
Fast-food chains and other businesses that depend on impulse spending also have raised concerns about the impact of gas prices on their sales.
Yet several economists argue that, despite the record pump prices, Americans are better able to absorb the increases now than in the past because personal incomes have generally risen faster than energy costs.
"On average, we are quite a bit better off than we were 25 years ago," said Ron Planting, the American Petroleum Institute's manager of statistical information and analysis.
While that may be true on the whole, the bite of higher pump prices is more acutely felt in some regions than others, according to a county-by-county index published this week by the Oil Price Information Service.
Individual counties
Take Zavala County, which is southwest of San Antonio. Spending on gasoline represents 13.7 percent of the median monthly income for households in the county, the index said.
But in the Houston area, where salaries are higher, gas spending is a smaller chunk of household incomes and therefore a lesser strain.
In Harris County, gas spending accounts for 5.22 percent of the monthly median income; in Montgomery, it's 4.42 percent, while in Fort Bend, it's 3.46 percent and in Brazoria, it's 4.56 percent, according to the OPIS index.
Collectively, Americans will pay a record $1.28 billion a day for gasoline during the holiday weekend, more than double what they paid in 2003 and each year before it, OPIS analyst Tom Kloza said.
With prices soaring, Kimberly Clayborne is doing her best to consolidate her errands and not leave home unless it's absolutely necessary.
But Clayborne, who spent $65 to fill the tank of her GMC Yukon XL at a Diamond Shamrock station on North Braeswood, is thinking it's time for more drastic action.
The owner of a home health business is thinking of buying a gas-sipping motorcycle, and parking her Yukon in the garage.
Although she's looking at a bike with a tough-sounding name — the Honda Rebel — Clayborne said she will use it just for errands around town.
