Gasoline may be in short supply at the pump this summer. There's plenty of crude oil and gasoline, but refineries can't find enough qualified tanker truck drivers to get it to the gas stations.
"According to the National Tank Truck Carriers, the industry's trade group, somewhere between 20% to 25% of tank trucks in the fleet are parked heading into this summer due to a paucity of qualified drivers. At this point in 2019, only 10% of trucks were sitting idle for that reason," Chris Isidore reports for CNN. "Drivers left the business a year ago when gasoline demand ground to a near halt during the early pandemic-related shutdowns."NTTC executive vice president Ryan Streblow told Isidore that driver shortages have been a long-standing issue, but the pandemic "metastasized it" and caused it to grow "exponentially."
Oklahoma tanker truck company executive Holly McCormick noted another factor: "We're also working with an aging work force," she told Isidore. "Many said 'I might as well take it as a cue to retire.'" She also said the shutdown of many driver schools early in the pandemic disrupted the pipeline of new drivers who would have taken many retirees' places. "And then there's a new federal clearinghouse that went online in January 2020 to identify truck drivers with prior drug or alcohol violations or failed drug tests, which knocked about 40,000 to 60,000 total drivers out of the national employment pool," Isidore reports.
Truck drivers have been in short supply for about 25 years, a problem that has grown more acute in the past five years or so. But tanker truck driving is more specialized, requiring extra certification and training. "And while the jobs are more attractive than some long-haul trucking jobs that can keep drivers away from home for days or weeks at a time, it is strenuous, difficult work," Isidore reports.
A gas shortage and higher prices could make make farming (and grocery store prices) more expensive, and, if vacationers can't afford to hit the road, that could hurt rural areas that depend on tourism, Isidore reports.
from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/3dZMuK7 Summer may bring gasoline shortages amid tanker truck driver shortage, could hurt rural areas dependent on tourism - Entrepreneur Generations
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