Diesel costs cut rides, raise prices at carnivals

The ladybug cars, the dinosaur slide and the children's tank ride awaited 3-year-old Jonas Smith as usual at this year's Johnson County Fair, but something was missing.

"It looks like there are fewer rides," his mother, Marcia Smith, said as she strolled the grassy midway. "The swing ride we rode last year is gone. And when I went to buy tickets with a group of moms, our jaws dropped."

Traveling carnivals throughout Iowa and the nation are facing a scary ride this summer as high diesel costs shorten tour routes, inflate ticket prices and limit the number of rides that many can offer at local events and county fairs.
The cutbacks come during the peak season for the carnival industry, as county and state fairs commence across Iowa and the nation.

"There's no question it's putting a strain on our industry," said Bob Johnson, president of the Florida-based Outdoor Amusement Business Association. "It's taken a big bite out of our operating costs."

Carnivals in the United States still draw an estimated 350 million visitors each year and offer a cheap alternative to vacations and other entertainment, said Johnson, whose group represents most of the 350 traveling carnivals in the United States and Canada.

But diesel prices in the Midwest averaged $4.52 per gallon this week, up $1.64 from this time last year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The national average hovered at $4.61 per gallon, a $1.72 increase from last year.

The increase forced Superior Equipment, which once served fairs throughout the Midwest, to limit its travel this year to Iowa and southern Minnesota, said manager Shawn Exum. The Clarence, Ia.-based carnival operator also reduced the amount of equipment it carries, and cut about five traveling workers who act as backups for ride operators.

"We won't attend as many fairs this year, and we won't drive as far to get to them," Exum said. "The cost of fuel, insurance, transportation, merchandise we have to buy, all greatly increased this year. It just came to be too much."

Fuel-related expenses for Superior Equipment have more than doubled since last summer, Exum said. The company's rides and games, like most modern carnival machines, run on electric generators powered by diesel engines.

The problem worsened this summer when severe weather and record floods swept through Iowa, blocking key travel routes and displacing thousands of regular fairgoers.

Financial pressures forced one local fair in northern Iowa to go without rides this year. The North Iowa Fair in Mason City had scheduled Merriam's Midway Shows to visit in late July, but a scheduling conflict prevented the carnival from attending, said fair manager Katy Elson. In its place, she said, the fair erected inflatable games for children and managed to secure a slingshot ride from another company.

Todd Merriam, who owns Merriam's Midway Shows, said he helped the fair's organizers find a replacement carnival to fulfill his three-year contract. The replacement carnival then canceled abruptly because it went out of business.

"We did the best we could," Merriam said. "Unfortunately, it was strictly financial."

Ticket prices also could rise if fuel expenses continue to grow, Exum said. Some operators, including Superior Equipment, have effectively raised prices already by requiring more tickets for a single ride, he said.

"People can't pay as much as we need to be charging," Exum said. "We're trying to raise it just enough to get by."

Exum said parents this year are telling their children to choose just one or two rides. Last year, he said, the number of 20-ticket family packs he sold outnumbered single-ticket sales by a ratio of 4-to-1. This year, single tickets -- at $1 apiece -- outperformed the $18 family packs.

Demetrious and Charlotte Ramirez of Iowa City scampered across the midway at the Johnson County Fair last week, past the spinning strawberry ride and the pink-and-green lights near the game pit. Their mother, Margo Ramirez, watched 6-year-old Demetrious hop aboard a children's tank ride while Charlotte, 3, eyed the flying swings.

"They had more cool stuff last year," Margo Ramirez said. "I can tell they're offering fewer rides, and the ones they are offering are smaller."

Mac's Carnival Rides & Attractions, a South Dakota-based carnival that serves seven states, raised its ticket prices 25 percent this year to offset fuel costs, said co-owner Lon McWhorter. Travel expenses for the show's 15 rides have grown to $3 per ride for every mile traveled, he said. Last year's rate was less than $2.