Panic at the pumps could be fueling diesel shortage, concerns

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Some fuel suppliers have reported a major rush in demand after concerns about a diesel shortage.

Despite diesel fuel costing double the amount in the last two years, customers are doubling their supply. The growth is good for Knox Farmer’s Cooperative’s bank, but CEO Lewis Jones told WVLT News it’s not ideal for business. The company is having to allocate supply from the Knoxville fuel terminal, but it’s taking days for the supply to get to these tanks.

“I really can’t understand the fuel shortage per se if I can’t wrap my mind around why we’re having such a difficult time,” said Jones. “It’s the busiest fuel season that we’ve ever had, and our farmers go up.”

Experts like Lee Maddox with the Tennessee Farm Bureau said there’s enough blame to go around from Russia’s war on Ukraine, the lowest water levels along the Mississippi River and refinery shutdowns during COVID-19.

“I’m not going to say crisis quite yet, but we’re approaching that there’s a lot of concern among farmers and the general public,” Maddox said.

Diesel fuel isn’t running out in East Tennessee, but getting it in the area has been slower than normal. Most of the local supply comes from pipelines, but if the fuel isn’t coming, that’s when suppliers start seeing a backup and panic.

Maddox said he’d like to see a more significant push for biodiesel, which comes from soybeans. There’s some pushback that it would be too expensive to accommodate the demand.

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