US diesel shortage worsens – RT World News

US diesel shortages are spreading along the East Coast amid a ban on imports from Russia, raising fears of further fuel price spikes as consumers prepare for the winter heating season .

Mansfield Energy, one of the country’s major fuel distributors, instituted emergency measures on Tuesday and warned customers that transporters were forced to visit multiple terminals in some cases to stock up, delaying deliveries. With shortages stretching from the northeast to the southeast, the company advised customers to give 72 hours notice for their orders to avoid having to pay above-market prices.

“In many areas, actual fuel prices are currently 30 to 80 cents higher than the market average, as supply is tight,” said Mansfield, which ships more than three billion gallons of petroleum products annually. With relatively low cost suppliers running out of diesel, distributors are forced to source from higher cost sources, resulting in unusually wide price differentials.

Mansfield’s advice came just six days after the head of the US National Economic Council, Brian Deese, told Bloomberg News that diesel supplies were down. « Unacceptably Low » and that the administration of President Joe Biden had « all options » on the table to reduce prices. However, as Bloomberg and other outlets have noted, it’s unclear how these options would provide long-term relief.

Diesel supplies in New England, the region of the United States most dependent on distillate fuels for heating, are reported to have fallen to about a third of normal levels for this time of year. Nationally, the United States has just 25 days of diesel supply, the lowest level since 2008.

Deese told Bloomberg that the United States could tap its northeast heating oil reserve, which contains one million barrels of diesel for emergency use. But, as the Washington Post noted, demand for fuel is so high in the northeast that those supplies would be depleted in less than six hours. The White House has also considered banning or restricting exports of refined fuels – a strategy that industry trade groups say would backfire.

« Prohibiting or limiting the export of refined products would likely reduce inventory levels, reduce domestic refining capacity, put upward pressure on consumer fuel prices, and alienate U.S. wartime allies, » the American Petroleum Institute and US fuel and petrochemical makers said earlier this month in a letter to US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

The shortages also put the United States at risk of further price spikes in the event of a supply disruption, such as a refinery outage. Higher fuel prices would ripple through the US economy, as 18-wheelers and other diesel-powered vehicles carry about 70% of the nation’s freight tonnage.

Diesel prices currently average nearly $5.32 a gallon nationwide, down 8.6% from June’s record high, according to the AAA auto club. By comparison, the average gasoline price fell 25% from its all-time high of $3.76 per gallon. Diesel prices are up 47% from a year ago.