Justin Ho

Over the last few weeks, Catherine Reynolds, who handles imports for Palmetto Tile Distributors in South Carolina, has been getting a lot of emails about fuel surcharges from shipping companies.

Reynolds says she's been through this before, when energy prices spiked after Russia invaded Ukraine.

But Zach Rogers, a professor at Colorado State University, says back then companies were holding on to excess inventory they built up during the pandemic.

And that helped them to rely less on transportation.

Companies could build up their inventories again to avoid having to constantly replenish items.

But Rogers says doing so comes with its own costs, since companies still have to pay tariffs on imported goods.

Many companies are doing what they can to mitigate those fuel costs.

Ken Giddent is CEO of Rothmans, a men's clothing store in New York.

He says he's also been getting hit with surcharges, even for local shipments.

Meanwhile, Catherine Reynolds at Palmetto Tile Distributors says she's trying to consolidate her shipments.

For instance, today she's waiting to place an order while she has two other orders on hold.

Still, Reynolds says she'll have to pass at least some of the costs on to her customers.

Because the business, she says, can't afford to absorb the cost.

I'm Justin Ho for Marketplace.

There are a few ways that the war can actually boost profits at big banks.

For one, they do a lot of stock trading on behalf of their clients.

And over the past month, stock markets have been volatile.

That's Gerard Cassidy with RBC Capital Markets.

He says banks earn fees when they execute trades for their clients.

The effect that the war is having on energy prices is also boosting revenue for energy companies.