It’s been a winter for the history books in South Dakota. In some locations, there was nothing average about the season, according to Kari Fleegel, a meterologist with the National Weather Service in Aberdeen.
“Many areas are getting close to their top-ten snowfall for this season, but quite a bit of snow on the ground already. We’ve had just under 63 inches of snow, which is almost 24 inches above average,” Fleegel said.
Those winter storms and blizzards shut down roads and hurt many business owners – which can include truck drivers.
The conditions also contributed to larger supply chain issues that have become familiar to shoppers and business owners alike. Christine Erickson, president of the South Dakota Trucking Association, said the weather can affect a driver’s compensation. When roads shut down, many clock long, often unpaid delays.
“We’ve seen a lot of road closures which then halts the transportation of our goods across the state," Erickson said. "A lot of our truckers are sitting idle at different gas station areas, and that time for them to be on the road is time that they’re wanting to move the product.”
For every stranded semi-truck driver, there’s a retail shelf waiting for a delivery. Black Hills Bagels in Rapid City delivers its bagels by truck to other states. Debora Jensen, vice president of the company said transporting their product is just another wrinkle to worry about this time of the year.
“When will the storm come in, how long will it last, will we be able to get our wholesale orders out? Because we wholesale to seven or eight different states, so if the Interstate is closed, we can’t get those bagels out," Jensen said. "So, you have to make that decision because you don’t want to bake them and not be able to send them out.”
That’s especially true when the products are perishable, liked baked goods. Jensen said their brick-and-mortar location isn't immune from winter storms either.
“It’s really tough for us because we have to make decisions at midnight, one o’clock in the morning, first of all on whether the baker can get in, should he get in, if he does get in how much should he bake, and if he does bake will we be able to actually get the doors open? The cost is tremendous either way,” Jensen said.
That can all add up over the course of a long winter. The executive director of the South Dakota Retailers Association, Nathan Sanderson, said Black Hills Bagels is not alone.
“In the last week I have talked to several businesses that have had to close during the weekday many more times in 2023 than they did in 2022 or 2021 due to the weather," Sanderson said. "So, anytime they’re not able to stay open, that’s negatively impacting their business.”
Sanderson said 2023 may not be as profitable as the previous years for some small businesses.
“Then the overall state of the economy, we’re looking at consumers looking at spending less in 2023 than they spent previously," Sanderson said. "So, I think a lot of business owners are taking a cautionary approach to this year.”
Across the state there are businesses in just about every industry navigating the same hurdles. At Montgomery’s Furniture in Sioux Falls, Eric Sinclair said as the snow piled up, so did the business costs.
“It’s been as challenging of a winter as I could remember. I’ve been back running Montgomery’s for the past 16 years – and as far as closing stores and having days consumers couldn’t get out and about as well as massive snow removal bills, it’s been pretty challenging,” Sinclair said.
Sinclair said all it takes is one bad day to make a significant dent in the bottom line.
“You lose that day of business, but you also lose a lot of momentum and you gotta dig back out of the snow and get people motivated to get going again," Sinclair said. "I can tell you, there’s no revenue, and you’re paying huge bills to get snow removal anymore, especially on our large parking lots we have. So, it digs quite a hole every time we’re closed.”
It’s a similar tale at Beck’s Motors in Pierre. They’ve been in business since 1969, but Steve Beck said this might just be the hardest year yet for his business.
“If you dial back to December, the first storm we closed down Tuesday afternoon – we did not open back up for business until the following Monday," Beck said. "Our December numbers were off considerably.”
Many businesses are already behind from the challenging winter. The South Dakota Retailers Association predicts inflation will pose new hurdles in the coming year.