As diesel hits $10/gal., rumors swirl that stations are running out

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Last week, a number of diesel stations in California appeared on social media with the prices pinned at 9.99 – the highest number the pumps could display. Today, the pictures are showing something different: gas stations that are out of diesel entirely.

Sensational posts about America running out of diesel have been popping up on YouTube pretty regularly since the US launched military strikes on Iran causing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year – but this latest round of hysteria is being backed up by more credible news sources, as well.

“Photos appearing to show gas stations running out of diesel have spread across social media as US fuel prices climb to record highs, but industry data does not currently show any widespread shortages,” writes Newsweek’s Aliss Higham. “One image posted on X showed a station in North Texas displaying an ‘out of diesel’ notice. Another post on X said a station in Orlando, Florida, had also run out.”

Even CNBC chimed in on the rumors, interviewing GasBuddy’s Patrick DeHaan as recently as Friday in a segment titled, somewhat ominously, “No widespread diesel shortages in the US right now.” (Emphasis mine.)

Still, the social media posts keep on coming, like this one from a Chicago freight and logistics guy I follow on LinkedIn:

So, what’s actually happening? It’s important to state here that I, your favorite internet writer, do not know – but this is kind of my beat, so I can give you a fairly well educated guess. That is, as diesel prices rise and larger buyers of diesel stock up on as much as they can at current prices (think: commercial truck stops like Love’s and Pilot/Flying J), and that the smaller, regional oil distributors that supply local gas stations are being pushed out, leaving them less diesel to sell.

Another possible take put forward by one of my colleagues that I liked had gas stations “sitting” on diesel until they upgraded their signs to be able to show prices higher than $9.99. “They don’t want to leave any money on the table,” she said.

Regardless, the people who analyze this data all day, every day, are still saying that these outages are localized, and not widespread. Here’s Patrick DeHaan, again:

GasBuddy is not seeing any high level outages in our data, nor through our Pay with GasBuddy card. We constantly monitor outages, mainly during hurricanes, but they’re currently within norms at this time.

All of which is to say that, while there doesn’t seem to be any sort of diesel or gas shortage today, there is no question that fuel prices are continuing to climb, putting pressure on everyone’s costs, prices, and general quality of life – and, like all investments, the best time to buy a new EV was probably a few years ago. The second-best time? It’s right now (and you might want to get some solar panels and a home backup battery while you’re at it).

That’s my take, anyway – let us know if you’re seeing any kind of supply shortages in your neck of the woods, whether you think hysteria sells, or whatever you think is really going on out there in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

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The early 2000s conflicts and the effects it had on gas prices, and seeing how that affected not only my family but also the nation, was what convinced me at the time to avoid ever getting a car. Thankfully electric vehicles became far more affordable once changes in life required me to get one. I've never known what spending a dime on gas is like, and never will.

Original content from Electrek; sources throughout.

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