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As Americans Take to the Road Again, Gasoline Could Be in Short Supply This Summer

Motorists could be seeing signs like this across the U.S. as companies struggle to find tanker drivers.

First came the shortages of masks and hand sanitizer, then tissues and toilet paper. Scarcity became reality during the COVID-19 pandemic. But now, as widespread vaccination frees up millions of Americans to take long-delayed summer vacations, a new shortage is cropping up: a lack of gasoline.

There’s plenty of petroleum at the nation’s refineries, in fact. The real issue is a shortage of drivers to get it to the pump.

Ironically, many tank truck drivers were let go when the pandemic first struck and millions of Americans went into lockdown. Now, up to 25% of U.S. tankers  are sitting idle with no one to put behind the wheel.

Pandemic’s petro-rollercoaster

U.S. roadways went eerily silent as much of the country was idled at this time last year. In major metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, traffic fell by as much as 80%, according to tracking service Tom Tom. There was such a glut of petroleum that oil tankers often sat at sea, waiting to empty their loads.

refinery

The potential gas shortages are not an issue of overall supply as refineries are operating without issue.

That sent gas prices tumbling, some U.S. service stations charging less than a dollar a gallon in spring 2020. Demand has been rising since then and the typical U.S. motorist is paying $2.88 a gallon for regular unleaded today, according to AAA.

But there’s growing concern that prices could surge even more sharply, especially if the country starts to experience gasoline shortages should there not be enough drivers found to get fuel to where it’s needed.

“Trucking’s driver shortage already exceeds 50,000 drivers,” the National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC), an industry trade group, reported on its website. And that’s only part of the problem, it adds. “The trucking industry’s workforce shortage is not confined to drivers alone. Trucking companies also require dispatchers and back office staff. Trained mechanics are also in short supply. Tank truck operations face further critical shortages of registered inspectors and design-certified engineers who can inspect and repair cargo tank truck trailers.”

Driver shortage grows worse

In recent years, there’s been a growing shortage of truck drivers, in general. The work is demanding, the pay often marginal, especially for those operating their own rigs.

This could be an increasingly less familiar sight as demand for gasoline increases this summer.

Complicating matters, not everyone licensed to haul an 18-wheeler can operate a tank truck. Beyond the basic commercial license, a driver needs to get additional certification considering the dangerous loads they’ll be hauling.

Then, early last year, a new federal registry debuted. It identified drivers who have had issues with alcohol or drugs. As many as 60,000 of them are no longer available as a result.

Tanker fleet operators struggled with the lack of business last year and are now trying to cope with the driver shortage. When lockdown began and demand for gas plunged, “We were even hauling boxes for Amazon just to keep our drivers busy,” Holly McCormick, vice president in charge of driver recruitment and retention at Oklahoma tanker company, told CNN. “A lot of drivers didn’t want to do the safety protocols. We’re also working with an aging work force. Many said ‘I might as well take it as a cue to retire.’”

Even in normal times, driver turnover can run 50% annually. It hit 70% during the depths of the COVID crisis, Brad Fulton, director of research and analytics at Stay Metrics, told the network.

Spot shortages

Traffic levels are on the rise, especially as more Americans receive vaccinations and look to travel again on vacation.

Schools that train new drivers simply can’t keep up, according to industry insiders. And there are additional roadblocks in the licensing process, argues the NTTC which, in a report on the shortage, said steps are essential for “speeding and easing the CDL (commercial driver’s) licensing process.”

There have already been reports of spot shortages hitting vacation centers like Florida and Arizona during the recent spring break, according to the Oil Price Information Service.

Experts say these could become more widespread during the summer months as more Americans start to travel again — especially with the CDC revising outdoor mask guidelines for those who’ve been fully vaccinated.

The real concern is that even a brief shortage at a handful of stations could cause the same sort of panic that occurred last year when supplies of toilet paper fell short, shoppers lining up at groceries and big box outlets like Costco, snapping up every roll they could find.

If everyone suddenly decides they need a full tank of gas at all times it could strain supplies. It also could lead to long lines of cars waiting to fuel up — bringing back echoes of the gas shortages America faced in the 1970 oil shocks. Except, this time, there’s a plentiful supply of both petroleum, but a shortage of the trucks needed to get fuel where it’s needed.

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Ford Fusion Could Stage a Return — This Time in Crossover Form

Rumors are flying that the Ford Fusion is coming back as the Fusion Active: a crossover.

The once-popular Ford Fusion nameplate appeared to be heading off to the great junkyard in the sky last year as the automaker set off to eliminate its passenger car line-up, but it may soon make a comeback.

Images leaked out on Instagram show what appears to be an all-new version of the Fusion, albeit this time in in crossover form that, some are speculating, will be dubbed the Fusion Active. The images, along with insider tips, suggest it will fall somewhere between a classic CUV body style and a conventional wagon, on the order of the Subaru Outback or the short-lived Buick Regal TourX.

The exact source of four images, three showing partial exterior details, the last a bit of the interior, have been circulating online after originating on some Chinese websites. But rumors of a Fusion revival have been out there since even before Ford finally shut down U.S. production of the midsize Fusion sedan last August.

(End of an era at Ford as last Fusion rolls off production line.)

If it is actually a revival of the Fusion nameplate, it’s unlikely to hit the U.S. until 2022.

If all this proves accurate, we can expect to see the Fusion Active come to the U.S. market in the next couple years — though it may make its initial debut in Europe under the Mondeo badge used for the sedan outside of the States.

There’s no question that the crossover market is hot. According to IHS Markit, utility vehicles, overall, could account for 55% of the new products sold in the U.S. this year. But products in the nether world between wagons and CUVs have been a mixed bag: the Outback a consistent seller, the TourX never gaining serious traction.

Beyond the tall wagon exterior, the single interior shot reveals a high-tech focus, starting with a dashboard that is all but entirely covered by video screens. While there’s no way to get the measuring tape out, the displays appear to cover nearly as much territory as in the latest-generation Cadillac Escalade, and only slightly less than in the Byton M-byte prototype that debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show last January.

(The Ford Fusion is dead — for now anyway.)

Like automakers in general, Ford has been growing the size of the screens in its latest vehicles, the new Mustang Mach-E being the best example. But that laptop computer-sized display doesn’t come near to covering as much real estate. One is left wondering how even the latest version of the Ford Sync entertainment system would be used to fill up such a large display setup. Then again, Ford has suggested it could use its in-car displays to deliver entertainment — at a price.

The Fusion Active certainly gets a focus on technology with a massive screen or set of screens on the dashboard.

There is also the possibility that what we’re looking at is a concept vehicle, rather than the final production model. Massive video displays have become the hot design element of the moment, much like all-glass roofs and sideview cameras were a few years back.

As far as powertrains are concerned, speculation centers around several options, including a version of the 250-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo-4 offered in the latest Ford Escape. But several electrified packages also appear to be in the works, including one using a 2.5-liter gas engine eschewing conventional turbochargers in favor of twin electric motors. All-wheel drive is a certainty, though the hybrid system is likely to for a through-the-road AWD layout with no connecting driveshaft.

(2019 Ford Fusion to be the “most sophisticated” sedan ever.)

Chances are the Ford Fusion/Mondeo Active will debut late in 2022 or even early 2023. It would not just fill a gap left by the demise of the Fusion but also flesh out the automaker’s broad SUV line-up.

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