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Some of the country s largest suppliers see widespread summer fuel shortage unlikely amid tight tank driver supply and booming demand
May 06, 2021
A tidal wave of demand could be headed to a trucking segment that s the least capable of absorbing it.
A summer travel season that s expected to be defined by revenge vacations – people hitting the highways en masse following nearly a year stuck at home under pandemic restrictions – is expected to bring with it a surging demand for fuel, yet liquid bulk haulers already have more to haul than drivers to pull it.
Updated May 7, 2021
A tidal wave of demand could be headed to a trucking segment that s the least capable of absorbing it.
A summer travel season that s expected to be defined by revenge vacations – people hitting the highways en masse following nearly a year stuck at home under pandemic restrictions – is expected to bring with it a surging demand for fuel, yet liquid bulk haulers already have more to haul than drivers to pull it.
Steve Rush, past-chairman of the National Tank Truck Carriers association and CEO of Whartron, New Jersey-based lubricant base oil petroleum product hauler Carbon Express, said the driver shortage is not perceived. It is real. Liquid bulk shipments are on average out two weeks right now with no immediate relief in sight.