It sounds like a rumor, but even Bloomberg is reporting that the diesel crisis is here – and it's spreading along the East Coast. Prices have increased in areas with delivery delays and a truck shortage. Meanwhile, at least one supplier is requiring 72-hour notice for fuel delivery in the Southeast.
Dan Kish of the Institute for Energy Research says it is definitely a concern. He tells AFN diesel supplies are the lowest in decades.
"There really has not been much discussion of this at all with the administration," he notes. "They just have left it unaddressed. There are significant reasons why it's happening; but ultimately, it's going to get worse."
Kish is worried for folks who depend on heating oil. "We really have not gotten into winter yet – and the Northeast especially relies on heating oil, which is the same basic stuff as diesel and jet fuel, to get through the winter."
Going into the weekend, the national average for diesel was $5.30, up from $4.88 in a month and $3.62 the same time last year.
