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Fuel shortage bites as stocks get lower
Page 6
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THE SHORTAGE of diesel fuel at garages and service areas seems to be worsening as stocks dwindle.
Hauliers are reporting that the worst affected areas are the North East, South East and the Midlands. In these regions although operators are generally receiving adequate deliveries of fuel to their own depots, roadside supplies are limited.
This means that hauliers and coach operators on long hauls to, or through, these worst affected areas must be very careful not to run too low.
Our own road test team on the Scottish test route encountered difficulty in obtaining diesel at its usual halts and only just managed to get through the North East on the Al.
Many garages and motorway service areas are restricting diesel sales to make their stocks go a little further. Some are limiting sales on agency cards to 10 gallons, while others are refusing agency cards altogether and allowing cash sales only.
Operators who use the agency card system are angry at the non-acceptance of the cards by some garages, they being forced to pay a higher price per gallon for cash purchases. Prices as high as 97p per gallon have been reported by some operators.
The apparent reason for the diesel shortage at garages and service areas particularly stems from the Iranian politican scene.
Smaller oil companies are forced to buy their crude oil on the Rotterdam spot market, and are paying uneconomic prices in relation to the price of diesel in the UK. Some of these companies have stopped supplying their British haulier customers and so these hauliers are having to rely on roadside garages for their diesel.
Until the crude oil supply from Iran returns to its normal level and diesel is once again plentiful, CM's advice to hauliers and coach operators alike is to minimise reliance on roadside refuelling.
Depot fuel stocks and any available bunkering facilities should be fully utilised, and a cash float of £10 or £20 for the driver will come in very useful if agency cards are refused.