CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Rising fuel prices are taking a toll on New Hampshire’s businesses.

Crude oil usually costs $15 to $25 a barrel, but has broken $50, and experts aren’t sure whether higher prices are permanent.

“It’s been brutal,” said Dave Plante, operations manager for the Candia-based shipping company M&S Logistics.

M&S has tacked on a 15-percent fuel surcharge to cover gas costs. Plante said fuel costs have shot up as much as 7 cents in a single week, forcing the company, which has 15 trucks, to tack on the fee.

“Seven cents in one jump is quite a hit when you’re buying thousands of gallons of fuel at a time,” Plante said. “A lot of smaller carriers couldn’t weather the storm and went out of business.”

The situation has been similar for printing company Concord Litho. President Tom Cook said the organization hasn’t lost any customers, but is feeling pressure to adjust prices. For now, he said, clients understand $2 per gallon of gas is expensive.

“But as prices continue to climb, I think they really have to look at it,” he said.

The company primarily conducts business north of Washington, D.C. Cook said gas prices have limited the company’s range.

“It’s reduced our geographic reach a little, and it’s impacted our ability to be competitive doing long-distance work,” he said. “It isn’t cheap doing business in the Northeast.”

But he said the situation also has worked in reverse, with high prices preventing competitors from trying to penetrate the New England market.

“It’s somewhat of an advantage,” he said.

Phil Matzke, owner of Hillside Meadow Agway in Tilton, said he’s keeping most prices steady at his business.

He said the cost to bring goods into his store has risen nearly 20 percent since January as trucking companies face higher gas costs. He said his profits have dropped by nearly five percent even though sales have risen by more than 7.5 percent. Increasing his prices aren’t an option, he added, since he’s competing with big-box retailers like Wal-Mart.

“When you’re on this end of that chain, you can’t just do that and stay in business,” he said.

There is some good news. Oil prices fell below $50 per barrel last week, and that isn’t the only positive sign. The Dow Jones industrials have been up eight of the last nine sessions, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index have climbed for nine straight sessions.

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Information from: Concord Monitor, http://www.cmonitor.com

AP-ES-11-07-04 1548EST