Inflation fears creep in slowly

Just as the recovery is taking hold, some business owners are starting to fret about quickening inflation.

Consider the challenge faced by Theodore Etzel III, the president and CEO of Conditioned Air in Naples. Conditioned Air's fleet of 50 service vans travels the length of Interstate 75 from Sarasota to Naples so technicians can install and repair cooling systems. A 25-cent increase in fuel costs Etzel thousands more dollars in expenses a year, offsetting some of the increase in business he's been seeing lately.

It's not just fuel prices that are rising fast. Other commodities from aluminum to steel and copper have seen rapid price increases. The cost of silver solder that's used to bind metal together surged 50% in a single day recently. “We've seen pretty significant hits to cost inputs,” Etzel says.

Thankfully, commodity prices are volatile so Etzel buys metal on the dips. But he's worried prices will remain elevated.