Frustration in the South as a Gasoline Shortage Drags On

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GasBuddy News Article

Frustration in the South as a Gasoline Shortage Drags On Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The New York Times -- ATLANTA — As a gasoline shortage in the South drags through its second week, drivers have gone from being mildly annoyed to deeply frustrated, with lines hours long at service stations in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Southern drivers could continue to face long lines, high prices and widespread station closings until mid-October, the AAA automobile club said Monday, although the problem may begin to improve this week. “If I had to put a date on it, I’d say things won’t be normal for two more weeks,” said Kenneth B. Medlock III, an energy expert at Rice University, in Houston.
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	Tuesday, September 30, 2008 The New York Times -- ATLANTA — As a gasoline shortage in the South drags through its second week, drivers have gone from being mildly annoyed to deeply frustrated, with lines hours long at service stations in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Southern drivers could continue to face long lines, high prices and widespread station closings until mid-October, the AAA automobile club said Monday, although the problem may begin to improve this week. “If I had to put a date on it, I’d say things won’t be normal for two more weeks,” said Kenneth B. Medlock III, an energy expert at Rice University, in Houston. Visit The New York Times for full article

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21597 All-Star Author Colorado Posts:647 Points:209,490 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 11:33:42 AM	Ignore 21597 Report Abuse
	The people tapping off their tanks are doing just what the oil co's want.
creese Rookie Author Atlanta Posts:20 Points:94,500 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 10:22:45 AM	Ignore creese Report Abuse
	Already better here today. Many stations now have gas, but the price is still averaging over $4.00/gallon.
amearly Champion Author Michigan Posts:3,995 Points:863,315 Joined:Jan 2006	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 10:03:13 AM	Ignore amearly Report Abuse
	Just another scam by oil and government.
RochBear Champion Author Minnesota Posts:1,758 Points:505,580 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 10:01:22 AM	Ignore RochBear Report Abuse
	people waiting in line for gas for hours. Probably sitting there, running the engine. talk about wasting fuel which is already in short supply. Time to go into ultra conserve mode in Atlanta.
Don20 Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:1,530 Points:1,014,745 Joined:Mar 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:53:36 AM	Ignore Don20 Report Abuse
	It appears to me this shortage could be man made to keep the price up, now they wouldn't do that would they. (In this day and age.) Naaaaaa Gas here this morning is $2.97 per gallon reg. for the lowest price. Many in the price range $2.97 to $3.19 [Edited by: Don20 at 10/1/2008 10:56:54 AM EST]
Magnumpi606 Sophomore Author North Carolina Posts:121 Points:377,870 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:51:30 AM	Ignore Magnumpi606 Report Abuse
	I believe it will drag on here for a long time!!!
PizzaMon All-Star Author Philadelphia Posts:541 Points:373,125 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:47:28 AM	Ignore PizzaMon Report Abuse
	Could State and Local governments in these areas be the cause of this fuel shortage. Wouldn't surprise me that this is the REST OF THE STORY!
357revo Champion Author Pittsburgh Posts:6,793 Points:770,565 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:47:24 AM	Ignore 357revo Report Abuse
	bicycler and spunky, Spoken like true conspiracy theorists. As Desi would say to Lucy, "Let me 'splain." First, we have a temporary disruption in supply and refining capacity, as the storms go through. Some refineries are still not back in production due to storm damage. Others [in Texas, primarily] lost power and still haven't got back to production. Pipelines need electricity too, for control functions. So supplies are down. Second, people were told a storm was due, and emergency planners recommended making sure you had a full tank of gas in the event that gas supplies got disrupted. Now for the logistics. Let's say the average car has a gas tank holding 16 gallons, and so on any given day, the average amount of fuel in all the cars of an area is half-full, or 8 gallons. For all the cars to fill up in anticipation of a disruption in gas supplies requires 8 gallons times the number of cars in the area. The states of GA, NC, and TN have about 10.6 million cars, and 8.8 million trucks and buses. So if everyone car owner was filling up in anticipation of the storm, you're looking at about 85 million gallons of gas. So the available gas supply gets drained in some localized areas, because of the people trying to fill all those tanks. And some people start to panic, even though they probably have plenty for their immediate needs. That's when you see people waiting in lines to top off their tanks, even though they're only down to a half tank or so. And every time you see a line of cars waiting at a gas station you naturally figure that they have gas, and you check your gauge to see how much you have and consider whether you ought to get gas now, before it's critical. So now you've got a bunch of cars waiting to get into a gas station. Are they idling their engines to keep the air conditioner running? Just idling can use up a half gallon of gas per hour. Multiply that by all the people waiting in lines, and that's an additional drain on the limited supply. Best recommendation is to not drive unless you have to, and don't be so anxious to fill up unless you need to. If everybody did that, the entire area will benefit from more gas availability, because it's not sitting in some guy's tank who isn't going to be using it up for another week. [Edited by: 357revo at 10/1/2008 10:47:39 AM EST]
AlaRedNeck Champion Author Kansas Posts:1,177 Points:210,875 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:43:58 AM	Ignore AlaRedNeck Report Abuse
	I agree Prodaddy
Prodaddy Champion Author Houston Posts:1,463 Points:445,095 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:42:58 AM	Ignore Prodaddy Report Abuse
	Just another way to gouge us
PizzaMon All-Star Author Philadelphia Posts:541 Points:373,125 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:39:57 AM	Ignore PizzaMon Report Abuse
	It is hard to believe that this is happening so long after the storm.
kingdick Champion Author Minnesota Posts:19,400 Points:1,528,870 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:39:38 AM	Ignore kingdick Report Abuse
	Two things are causing the shortage in the SE. Electric Power is just returning along the pipeline (Pump Power). People buying gas for stocking up (Hoarding)
wizzard1222 Veteran Author St. Louis Posts:397 Points:705,725 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:39:05 AM	Ignore wizzard1222 Report Abuse
	2nd time to open the barn door! (Congress)
Zygnatz Champion Author British Columbia Posts:4,986 Points:979,080 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:37:40 AM	Ignore Zygnatz Report Abuse
	Is this a case of people driving much more than they usually would looking for stations with gas? Time to park it and wait it out. Try shoes or bicycle.
hank1326 All-Star Author Los Angeles Posts:510 Points:127,705 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:36:16 AM	Ignore hank1326 Report Abuse
	Ditto to Spunky4443. Meanwhile, keep on conserving in other parts of the country.
91Acclaim Veteran Author Maryland Posts:360 Points:74,860 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:35:58 AM	Ignore 91Acclaim Report Abuse
	I didn't understand long waits for gas in the '70s. I still don't understand.
chas_commuter All-Star Author South Carolina Posts:575 Points:128,990 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:28:03 AM	Ignore chas_commuter Report Abuse
	Why the hell is there a media blackout on this story?
spunky4443 Champion Author Washington Posts:1,161 Points:457,830 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:26:23 AM	Ignore spunky4443 Report Abuse
	Shouldn't be NO Shortage, somebody down South is Screwing with the People.
FawltyPawl All-Star Author North Carolina Posts:729 Points:116,525 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:24:52 AM	Ignore FawltyPawl Report Abuse
	No patience in Atlanta. tsk, tsk
EZExit Veteran Author Phoenix Posts:324 Points:85,050 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:20:59 AM	Ignore EZExit Report Abuse
	Are they trying to artificially drive the prices up nationwide?
Matts_Pap Champion Author Pennsylvania Posts:1,282 Points:197,965 Joined:Feb 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:20:50 AM	Ignore Matts_Pap Report Abuse
	I smell a rat.
Lizzylou Champion Author Stockton Posts:1,452 Points:884,770 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:20:43 AM	Ignore Lizzylou Report Abuse
	This is a very sad situation! I heard on the news this morning that people are lined up before stations are open or hope for them to open and that some stations are charging as much as $8.00 a gallon!!
SeerLV All-Star Author Las Vegas Posts:537 Points:132,765 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:20:41 AM	Ignore SeerLV Report Abuse
	The news said that the pipline is back to full capacity so when the panic buying stops things will return to normal.
tomok Champion Author Portland Posts:9,650 Points:720,085 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:18:31 AM	Ignore tomok Report Abuse
	It been more than two weeks for the fuel supply situation to be fixed and its hasn't happened yet!!!! And, this area was not affected by the hurricane! Why are certain parts of the south having such a problem with fuel????
MajorSteve All-Star Author Oklahoma City Posts:505 Points:238,570 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:17:32 AM	Ignore MajorSteve Report Abuse
	How long can they drag this out? Only a few stations are low on fuel
Henry_V Rookie Author South Carolina Posts:1 Points:145 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:15:29 AM	Ignore Henry_V Report Abuse
	This is what I don't get: there's less gas available, right? OK, fine. But, why are there lines and shortages. Why aren't stations raising price more so that lines are kept to a minimum and they don't run out of gas? What gas station owner in his right mind would rather sell out of gas rather than raise price? Different EPA blends wouldn't explain it either. I'd rather have $5/gallon gas that I can buy than $3.60/gallon gas that's not there! There's something missing. Are there price-gouging regulations in effect that are preventing price from increasing? It's nuts. I don't see this in Virginia. Here, they're just raising price. No one is talking about why prices aren't going up to compensate.
domer2 All-Star Author Gary Posts:877 Points:379,975 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:10:48 AM	Ignore domer2 Report Abuse
	it will get better soon.
amacquarrie Veteran Author Nevada Posts:338 Points:78,210 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:10:02 AM	Ignore amacquarrie Report Abuse
	hmmmmm
trevv Rookie Author Indiana Posts:43 Points:974,690 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:08:39 AM	Ignore trevv Report Abuse
	There's an idea, retask some ethanol trains to take gasoline to the South. We won't have enough corn to produce ethanol this year anyway.
emosley007 All-Star Author Raleigh Posts:649 Points:58,950 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:08:38 AM	Ignore emosley007 Report Abuse
	still have several places that don't have gas at all. now you are saying another 2 - 3 weeks of this. the reports were gas was coming a couple of weeks ago. and the prices are still to high.
laddyboy62 Champion Author Riverside Posts:1,586 Points:995,310 Joined:Mar 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:07:16 AM	Ignore laddyboy62 Report Abuse
	hear pipelines are starting to open
Mazdaman7Q Champion Author South Carolina Posts:3,736 Points:790,285 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:06:54 AM	Ignore Mazdaman7Q Report Abuse
	frustrated that GB hasn't help the reporters (us) with this problem so we can report OOG
Gas_Buzzer Champion Author South Carolina Posts:6,465 Points:1,106,300 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:06:28 AM	Ignore Gas_Buzzer Report Abuse
	Glad I moved from Atlanta 10 years ago.
pgerassi Champion Author Milwaukee Posts:2,574 Points:543,615 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:06:19 AM	Ignore pgerassi Report Abuse
	Run some unit tanker trains. It would be quicker.
rogerparry Champion Author Florida Posts:1,344 Points:291,995 Joined:Jan 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:06:00 AM	Ignore rogerparry Report Abuse
	The shortages don't make sense.
Takmygas Champion Author Indianapolis Posts:2,068 Points:283,755 Joined:Dec 2007	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:05:55 AM	Ignore Takmygas Report Abuse
	hmmmm could go back to a post from months ago, "guns, anger, @ the pumps, gonna happen....."
Rbl197 Champion Author Wilmington Posts:7,404 Points:1,552,310 Joined:Apr 2004	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:05:39 AM	Ignore Rbl197 Report Abuse
	Somebody do something!
bdrviper Champion Author Grand Rapids Posts:1,000 Points:713,385 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:04:45 AM	Ignore bdrviper Report Abuse
	interesting
TTI2000 Sophomore Author Colorado Springs Posts:127 Points:176,040 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:00:52 AM	Ignore TTI2000 Report Abuse
	I understand the shortage is the cleaner fuel standards for those areas that's causing the lack of gas.
sexymacho Rookie Author Florida Posts:78 Points:91,035 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:00:31 AM	Ignore sexymacho Report Abuse
	There is more to this story than is being told.
bug27 Champion Author Kentucky Posts:1,969 Points:1,174,400 Joined:Apr 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 9:00:26 AM	Ignore bug27 Report Abuse
	Haven't seen that around here.
krucker All-Star Author Austin Posts:564 Points:422,005 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 8:57:18 AM	Ignore krucker Report Abuse
	Anyone heard of Fuel Trucks??
gasuper Veteran Author Calgary Posts:368 Points:87,165 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 8:56:30 AM	Ignore gasuper Report Abuse
	give them some gas.....
recjr All-Star Author Illinois Posts:507 Points:86,220 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 8:55:26 AM	Ignore recjr Report Abuse
	it seems like they could ease this, if they wanted to!
ladyjj Champion Author Tennessee Posts:1,455 Points:161,295 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 8:55:09 AM	Ignore ladyjj Report Abuse
	Yeah right another 2 weeks of this!
AC-302 Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:8,373 Points:1,317,355 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 8:53:03 AM	Ignore AC-302 Report Abuse
	I realize it would be expensive, but why don't they truck some in? That would be a way to reduce inventories and bolster prices (or production) in other regions. Either way, those suppliers/refineries make more $$.
plumb37 Champion Author Quebec Posts:2,380 Points:99,080 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 8:51:51 AM	Ignore plumb37 Report Abuse
	Make that, smells fishy. Do fish make noises? Never heard one.
GasholeMI Champion Author Lansing Posts:1,500 Points:115,490 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 8:50:28 AM	Ignore GasholeMI Report Abuse
	Let's get these people some gas.
bowler48226 Champion Author Detroit Posts:1,180 Points:319,040 Joined:Sep 2007	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 8:49:37 AM	Ignore bowler48226 Report Abuse
	Something sounds fishy here.
21597 All-Star Author Colorado Posts:647 Points:209,490 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 10/1/2008 8:47:16 AM	Ignore 21597 Report Abuse
	I have no problem with anyone topping off, but then I have no problem if you run out of gas or have to wait in line. have at it