Photo: The Petrol Retailers Association
A fuel shortage has led the British government to put the military on standby as a supply chain crisis left petrol pumps dry by panic-buying motorists.
And it’s not a fuel shortage but a shortage of truckers that’s responsible for major supply problems at retail locations around the country.
Now a warning from authorities that fuel supply shortages began cropping up near the end of last week has caused consumers to fall into panic buying mode and long lines of cars sit waiting – sometimes for hours – to top off their tanks in cities across Britain.
The government began to address the problem by issuing temporary visas to some 5,000 foreign truck drivers, suspending competition laws and offering enticements to former drivers as part of a plan measures to deal with the trucking labor shortage. As a result, a number of military tanker truck drivers are now in a state of readiness and ready to be deployed should the problem become more dire.
"While the fuel industry expects demand will return to its normal levels in the coming days, it’s right that we take this sensible, precautionary step," said Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the UK to Reuters. "If required, the deployment of military personnel will provide the supply chain with additional capacity as a temporary measure to help ease pressures caused by spikes in localized demand for fuel."
Increased demand for fuel has resulted in some 50% to 90% of fuel pumps running dry in areas of Britain. The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), a group which represents the interests of independent fuel retailers in the UK, says that while there is no shortage of fuel, there is a major bottleneck in the transportation of petrol and diesel to stations across the nation.
Industry trade groups say part of the problem is that cars are now holding more fuel but add that “demand will return to its normal levels in the coming days” and that should ease pressures on fuel stations.
Fuel haulers, gas station operators and retailers are less than convinced and believe no quick fix is on the horizon. The lack of truck drivers – which is estimated to be around 100,000 in total – is so large as transporting fuel requires that drivers get extensive training and certification.
The government announced it would also extend specific HGV (heavy good vehicle) licenses, which allow drivers whose permits were due to expire in the next three months to keep working without having to take refresher courses.
"Even though the current network of tanker drivers is capable of delivering all the fuel we need – we have taken the additional step of asking the army to help plug the gap, whilst new HGV drivers come on stream thanks to all the other measures we’ve already taken," said Transport Minister Grant Shapps.
Now a warning from authorities that fuel supply shortages began cropping up near the end of last week has caused consumers to fall into panic buying mode and long lines of cars sit waiting – sometimes for hours – to top off their tanks in cities across Britain.
The government began to address the problem by issuing temporary visas to some 5,000 foreign truck drivers, suspending competition laws and offering enticements to former drivers as part of a plan measures to deal with the trucking labor shortage. As a result, a number of military tanker truck drivers are now in a state of readiness and ready to be deployed should the problem become more dire.
"While the fuel industry expects demand will return to its normal levels in the coming days, it’s right that we take this sensible, precautionary step," said Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the UK to Reuters. "If required, the deployment of military personnel will provide the supply chain with additional capacity as a temporary measure to help ease pressures caused by spikes in localized demand for fuel."
Increased demand for fuel has resulted in some 50% to 90% of fuel pumps running dry in areas of Britain. The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), a group which represents the interests of independent fuel retailers in the UK, says that while there is no shortage of fuel, there is a major bottleneck in the transportation of petrol and diesel to stations across the nation.
Industry trade groups say part of the problem is that cars are now holding more fuel but add that “demand will return to its normal levels in the coming days” and that should ease pressures on fuel stations.
Fuel haulers, gas station operators and retailers are less than convinced and believe no quick fix is on the horizon. The lack of truck drivers – which is estimated to be around 100,000 in total – is so large as transporting fuel requires that drivers get extensive training and certification.
The government announced it would also extend specific HGV (heavy good vehicle) licenses, which allow drivers whose permits were due to expire in the next three months to keep working without having to take refresher courses.
"Even though the current network of tanker drivers is capable of delivering all the fuel we need – we have taken the additional step of asking the army to help plug the gap, whilst new HGV drivers come on stream thanks to all the other measures we’ve already taken," said Transport Minister Grant Shapps.
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