Diesel-fuel supplies reported short, especially in Southeast

Image from Southern Farm Network

Supplies of diesel fuel are running short "across the country and especially in rural America," reports Mike Davis of Southern Farm Network. Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, told Davis, "I’m hearing that the southeastern quadrant of the United States is where the problems are more pronounced, and that includes areas like Tennessee and further into the Southeast."

Farmers and other diesel users have been mainly concerned about costs of the fuel, but "In certain pockets of the country where it’s more acute than others, there’s a real and growing concern about the availability of diesel, and there are a lot of reasons for that," Steenhoek said. "The war in Ukraine has certainly contributed to that." Robert Rapier of OilPrice.com reports that "The primary reason is the cutoff of Russian imports." Also, "U.S. refinery capacity has fallen in the past few years as several unprofitable refineries were closed."

Diesel shortages could become worse in the Northeast, where home heating oil claims much of the refinery output at this time of year. "I think, overall, this is something that is going to be an emerging concern in this country," Steenhoek told Davis. He said areas that get diesel supplies from river barges are threatened by low water in rivers. "In those areas that are further removed from the river and more in the Midwest and the northwestern part of the Midwest, I’m hearing fewer concerns about getting diesel supply. I think it depends on which part of the country you’re in. I do think that this is a trend that we’re going to be hearing more of."