Rising transportation costs have driven inflation across the state this summer. In June alone, Utahns paid approximately 4 percent more for a gallon of gasoline than they did in May, and airfare costs increased by nearly 18 percent this month.
According to the Zions Bank Wasatch Front Consumer Price Index, transportation costs in the state, which are up 2.7 percent month-over-month, were pushed higher in June by the rising gasoline prices. Utahns paid approximately 13 cents more for a gallon of gasoline on average in the month of June than they did in the month of May. According to the AAA, this put Utah in the spot for the eighth-highest gasoline prices in the country.
In most states, average gasoline prices fell about 20 cents in June as gasoline inventories swelled to their highest levels since 1992 due to increased domestic production across the nation, according to the national CPI.
Although the increased price of gasoline was the chief driver of higher transportation costs, airfare costs also contributed by jumping nearly 18 percent this month. During the summer months, travel routinely increases, and because of this, airlines are more likely to increase prices.
According to the Wasatch Front CPI, during the last 12 months, overall prices in Utah have increased by 1.6 percent. In comparison, prices across the United States have increased at a rate of 1.8 percent year-over-year, according to the national CPI. Utah Business
