Many consumers fear that whenever gas goes up, so will the costs of other goods and services, said Chris G. Christopher Jr., senior economist at Lexington forecasting firm IHS Global Insight. Fuel surcharges on a variety of bills can add to that concern.

Though gasoline represents a small portion of household spending — about 5 percent — rising prices worry consumers, who react by spending cautiously. According to recent surveys, drivers have been buying less gas for months and are using public transit more.

Pierce said she doesn’t like the surcharges, but in light of high gas prices, “I can see how, as a business owner, that could cause an issue.’’

Wendy Goldstein Pierce, a Boston public relations consultant, said she started following gas prices about a month ago, when it took $60 to fill her 2004 Toyota Highlander. About a week ago, she began noticing fuel surcharges tacked to bills, including a $1.25 “energy charge’’ when her dry cleaning was delivered.

While businesses may have included fuel surcharges on bills for some time, many consumers are only beginning to notice them as rising gas prices make consumers more attuned to increased costs elsewhere.

“To the extent that these service providers do raise fuel surcharges,’’ said Chris Lafakis, an economist with Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pa., “it will pass higher costs to consumers and discourage consumption.’’

The jump in energy costs — already blamed in part for higher food prices — is likely to slow the lackluster recovery. Consumer spending drives about 70 percent of US economic activity. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston estimate that each $20 rise in the cost of a barrel of oil pushes the US unemployment rate two-10ths of a point higher than it otherwise would have been. The national jobless rate was 9 percent in April.

“That really doesn’t cover, necessarily, everything for us, but it helps us,’’ said Peapod spokeswoman Elana Margolis. “Otherwise we’re in the hole.’’

Peapod, Stop & Shop’s grocery delivery service, institutes a 28 cent surcharge for fuel whenever gas rises above $2.75 a gallon, and then increases it by 10 cents for each subsequent 10 cent increase in gas prices. The surcharge, added to delivery fees, is approaching $1.50 locally.

Over the past several weeks, UPS and FedEx , which have longstanding surcharges that track fuel prices, have increased these fees for ground shipping to 8.5 percent from 6.5 percent. At Gentle Giant Moving Co. of Somerville, officials estimate the fuel surcharge, a flat fee charged per truck per day, adds about $32 per day to the average move.

Businesses of all sorts — from shippers to dry cleaners — are tacking on or raising surcharges to offset their high fuel costs, hitting consumers already squeezed between surging gas and food prices, and slow-growing wages.

“Higher gas prices, other than taking money out of people’s pockets, also affect how they think about the economy,’’ Christopher said. “It’s not a good thing for the consumer. They are still plowing ahead, but not as fast as they would have been. [And now] they’re scared that the price of clothing will go up.’’

Yesterday, crude closed at $102.55 a barrel, up 5.5 percent since Friday, and nearly 22 percent since mid-February.

The average retail price of gas currently tops $4 a gallon in more than a dozen states, according to AAA, and diesel is more costly. This week, a gallon of gas in Massachusetts is averaging nearly $3.95, according to AAA of Southern New England. Diesel is nearly $4.20.

Some businesses have been reluctant to impose a fuel surcharge. For example, Domino’s Pizza Inc. says it hasn’t done so because the “pizza industry is extremely competitive and consumers are price-sensitive.’’

But many businesses routinely tack on surcharges to cover fuel costs, including trucking companies, airlines, and Internet vendors. Some firms, however, are imposing fuel-related surcharges for the first time.

MyBike Online, a South Boston bike rental and repair shop, offers pick-up and drop-off services. It recently added a $5 “redelivery fee’’ if employees show up and customers aren’t home.

“We were giving up all this gas,’’ said the company president, LeRoy J. Watkins III. Customers now get this warning: “Miss your delivery and there is a $5 redelivery fee purely because of gas.’’

Whether to charge extra for fuel is a complicated business decision — especially for smaller firms in competitive markets, said Christopher. Many business owners see such fees as a way to protect profit margins without raising base prices.

Surcharges are also more likely to be accepted by consumers, who tend to view them as temporary, economists said. Nonetheless, customers still have to pay more, and firms run the risk that the added costs will send customers to competitors.

“Businesses, they struggle with this type of thing. They’re getting squeezed [and] they’re going to have to increase their prices to cover their costs,’’ Christopher said. “But they have to make sure they’re not the first ones to do it or they’ll see a loss in business.’’

At Gentle Giant, chief financial officer Ronald Zahn estimates the mover’s diesel costs will jump 33 percent this year to $1 million. He said he constantly reevaluates the company’s fuel surcharge with its sales team, but as with most businesses, the surcharges don’t cover all of the increased costs — especially when prices rise quickly. Diesel has jumped more than $1 a gallon in recent weeks.

“We’re probably recouping about 75 percent of the increase,’’ said Zahn. “In general, the vast majority of customers understand it. They don’t like it, but they understand it.’’

Erin Ailworth can be reached at eailworth@globe.com.

Correction: Because of an editing error, Daniel Tewfik’s name was misspelled in a caption in an earlier version of this story.

© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.