Gas Shortage and Price Hike Expected This Summer

A gas shortage is expected this summer not because there won’t be enough fuel but because there aren’t enough highly trained and licensed tanker drivers to transport it.

Many tanker drivers retired last year after demand for oil and gas plummeted because fewer people were traveling during the height of the pandemic. And most driving schools where new drivers could have received their training were closed due to state-mandated shutdowns. The two factors combined is resulting in a shortage of roughly 25% of tanker truck drivers needed to transport fuel, says the National Tank Truck Carriers, the trade association representing the tanker truck industry.

“We’ve been dealing with a driver shortage for a while, but the pandemic took that issue and metastasized it,” the association’s executive vice president Ryan Streblow said in a statement.

With states now reopening and people already beginning to travel, demand for gas is increasing, and so is the price at the pump – because less fuel is getting there…

(Excerpts from the Virginia Star)