TEXAS, USA — You may have noticed your fill up at the pump this week cost you more than usual. Prices are on the rise after a pipeline shut down over the weekend.
This isn’t an issue of supply. It’s an issue of demand.
Joshua Zuber, spokesman with AAA Texas said, “We're talking about the fuel truck driver shortage situation. There were a lot of folks who left the business during the pandemic of fuel truck driving.”
As fuel truck drivers gradually left the industry, those who remained were left scrambling to get the gas to its destination. The colonial pipeline shutdown has only made matters worse.
Our region has plenty of gas, but prices are still climbing. And residents are noticing.
“Seeing that surge, seeing this surge, seeing everything surge, is the issue," Tyler resident Pete Guzman said. "You take that on top of everything that is already rising, it’s becoming impossible for one person to actually live. I mean, everything's getting high dollar and that does absolutely nothing for us."
He said he just can’t keep up and is yearning for the day gas prices return to normal. Zuber said that with the pipeline hack, there are other fuel delivery alternatives. They just take time.
"These situations are temporary, and they're not shortages, it's important to know that there is ample supply of gasoline in the US, you know, it's just a matter of getting these deliveries to stations to meet demand,” he said.
The Colonial operations team predicts the market could return to normal as soon as this week. In the meantime, AAA wants you to avoid panic buying gasoline and at all costs, do not carry extra gasoline anywhere in your vehicle.
You can check gas prices in real time without even having to leave the house. Check out our gas prices tracker here.