With summer gearing up and COVID-19 gearing down, people will be flocking to various destinations. Ready to enjoy the summer weather and blow some of the stay-at-home stink off!
The only problem is, we may be seeing fuel shortages this summer. But not in the way you might think. We have enough fuel; the issue falls to drivers who deliver the fuel to the gas stations.
We’ve all seen a dip in supply in many products that we come to expect on our shelves, but this pandemic has affected many facets of our lives, and fuel distribution is no exception.
The tanker drivers we see driving on the highways and delivering our fuel actually have very specific classifications needed in order to drive those trucks. Besides having a CDL, those drivers also need to have a special certification and weeks of on-the-job training after hiring.
But between the special training, schools being closed down, and the need for fuel slowing down massively, this significantly impacted the drivers being able to learn how to drive these tankers and caused many drivers from the aging workforce to take early retirement because of the lack of work. We also saw a massive shift of new drivers moving over to other industries because of their large demand for workers and the availability of paid work during these difficult times.
According to the National Tank Truck Carriers, our country was already operating with a shortage of drivers. Still, with the issues we’ve faced with the pandemic, this has only gotten worse for Americans. The NTTC estimates that approximately 20 - 25% of the available tankers will be sitting in their yards, seeing no work because of the lack of drivers.
Add to that the typical driver turnover rate of 50%, jumping to approximately 70%, and the new online federal clearinghouse screens for drivers with any prior issues with drugs or alcohol, knocking about 40- 60,000 drivers out of the employment pool. You can see how quickly we are running out of good drivers to deliver our fuel.
You can learn more about these fact’s here; CNN has done multiple articles covering these topics vital to our businesses and our lives.
So how does all of this affect you?
As a business owner, this can affect lots of different aspects of your business. Including not being able to access the much-needed fuel you rely on to complete work. Can you imagine one of your fleet vehicles being stuck on the side of the road because they weren’t able to get gas from a gas station? It could be a considerable expense for your business as well as potentially hitting your bottom line hard!
No one wants a vehicle out of commission for something as trivial as an empty tank, but this could be a harsh reality some of us may be facing this summer, especially in vacation spots where we will see a higher demand for fuel.
As a business owner, what are some solutions?
Well, you could tell your drivers to top off their tanks every chance they get and hope for the best…
Or you could look into our services here at Instafuel. Our fuel solutions brings the fuel to you and may alleviate a lot of the stress and fears you may be facing with these new challenges on the horizon; giving you and your business yet another advantage with our services.
Contact us today to find out how we can help your business flourish even through these difficult times!