The Brief: May 2026

Rising Costs Call For Wise Responses

You don’t need us to tell you that gas prices are climbing. Beyond the pain we’re all feeling at the gas pump, major carriers like FedEx and UPS have increased their fuel surcharges, the USPS has announced a price increase for package deliveries, and Amazon is adding a new surcharge to its fulfillment services. 

But this isn’t just about the price at the pump. It’s about what’s happening — and what’s about to happen — to the cost of doing business across your entire supply chain. The good news: You don’t need to panic, and you don’t need to overhaul your budget overnight. But you do need to pay attention, plan ahead, and know what changes you may need to make and when you need to make them. 

What’s Happening Now

The vendors who deliver pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, food, and equipment to your hospital rely on the same manufacturing and shipping networks that are being hit by these surcharges and supply chain disruptions. That means that the cost of the products you order every week could increase, sometimes with little to no warning. Some vendors may temporarily absorb these costs. Others may pass them along as line-item surcharges or quiet price increases. Right now, many of these shipping cost increases are relatively minor. But they could change quickly, and it’s important to understand where your practice might be exposed before they do.

What’s Coming Next

An essential point to remember: this isn’t just about shipping costs. 

Many of the products your practice uses every day are made using petroleum-based or natural gas-derived materials — syringes, pill bottles, fluid bags, and even some generic drugs manufactured overseas using natural gas-powered facilities. Disruptions to the global supply of oil and liquefied natural gas are already pushing prices higher, and those increases are now rippling outward into the petrochemical supply chains that produce the raw materials for plastics and medical supplies. Natural gas infrastructure is far more complex and costly to rebuild than oil, meaning these disruptions could take longer to resolve.

Higher energy prices don’t just raise shipping and manufacturing costs; they also raise the cost of the materials themselves. Plastics are everywhere in veterinary medicine. Commodity-grade plastic prices, such as polyethylene and polypropylene (widely used in packaging), have already seen U.S. contract prices rise by nearly 20% in March. The price pressures currently hitting the market haven’t fully worked their way through the supply chain yet, but they’re on the way. As materials complete their manufacturing and shipping journeys over the coming months, the costs your vendors are paying to produce and deliver those products are likely to increase, and those increases will eventually reach your invoices.

This is the wave that’s still building. Keeping a close eye on the prices of petroleum-derived products specifically will help you spot shifts early and respond strategically rather than reactively.

What You Can Do About It

The key here is balance: make some smart, minor adjustments now while letting the full picture come into focus. You don’t need to raise every fee tomorrow, but you shouldn’t wait until your margins are already shrinking, either. Here’s where to start:

• Review your vendor contracts. Look for fuel surcharge clauses. Many agreements include provisions that allow vendors to add charges when fuel prices exceed certain thresholds. Know what triggers them and what your exposure looks like.

• Look at your highest-volume services. Small price adjustments on your most frequently used codes can offset rising supply costs without creating sticker shock for clients. A modest increase spread across high-volume services is far more sustainable (and much less noticeable) than a large, sudden jump on a few line items.

• Have the conversation early. Proactively reach out to your key suppliers. Ask whether they plan surcharges or price increases, and what the timeline is. A five-minute call now can prevent a budget surprise later.

• Build a buffer. Talk with your bookkeeper or financial advisor about building a small contingency line into your budget for supply cost fluctuations. Even a modest cushion can keep your monthly numbers in check.

• Watch your petroleum-based product costs closely. Track what you’re paying for items like syringes, fluid bags, and pill bottles over the coming weeks and months. When those prices start climbing, that’s your signal to revisit your response plan.

• Consider your own operational costs. If your practice offers mobile services, house calls, or delivery, factor rising fuel costs into your own pricing structure now, before your margins start shrinking.

The goal is to be vigilant and have a plan in place so that when surcharges and price increases arrive (and they likely will), you can adjust calmly rather than react under pressure.

The Bottom Line

This isn’t a moment to panic; it’s a moment to prepare. The practices that come through rising costs in the best shape won’t be the ones that overreacted early or ignored it until it was too late. They’ll be the ones that stayed vigilant, made thoughtful adjustments, and balanced higher costs against the reality of price-sensitive clients.

The situation is continuously evolving, so your response should, too. Our goal is to help you prepare now so you can adjust confidently as conditions change, but we’re not here just for the planning stage. iVET360’s Analytics and Bookkeeping teams actively track industry-relevant trends — so if the impact reaches your practice, we have the tools and data to help you respond strategically. That might look like reviewing margin trends across key cost groups like pharmacy, diets, or professional services to see where prices are shifting. It might mean identifying and implementing the fee adjustments that make the most sense for your practice, or finding ways to scale up higher-revenue services while managing cost exposure in other areas. 

Every practice is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all response. That’s why we work with each of our clients to find the approach that fits their specific situation. So whether you’re getting ahead of an issue or navigating it in real time, we’re here to help you stay focused on what matters most — taking great care of your patients and the people who love them.

Sources

Gibbs, Alice. 2026. “Amazon, UPS, FedEx, and USPS to Add Fuel Surcharges as Gas Prices Soar.” Newsweek, April 7, 2026. https://www.newsweek.com/amazon-ups-fedex-usps-add-fuel-surcharges-gas-prices-soar-11792513

Maguire, Gavin. 2026. “Iran War Deals Harder Blow to Natural Gas Than Oil.” Reuters, March 24, 2026. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/iran-war-deals-harder-blow-natural-gas-than-oil-2026-03-24/

Marketplace staff. 2026. “War-Driven Plastic Shortages Ripple Through Manufacturing Sector, Raising Costs.” Marketplace, April 9, 2026. https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/04/09/wardriven-plastic-shortage-raises-costs-for-some-manufacturers