BOWIE, Md. — A shortage of qualified tanker truck drivers is making the current gasoline supply crisis worse, according to drivers and transportation companies in the D.C. metro region, which has been hit particularly hard by the ongoing gas shortage following a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline.
"We had a driver shortage problem, and then with the pipeline going down, that compounded an already existing issue," said Mike Coraluzzo of Samuel Coraluzzo, Co and Torrissi Transport LLC. "It kind of doubled down on a bad situation and made it worse."
According to the National Tank Truck Carriers Association, as many as 25% of the country’s fleet of tankers is parked. Coraluzzo said drivers who were laid off when gas demand crashed during the COVID crisis found easier jobs hauling freight and have not come back despite pay as high as $90,000 per year and good benefits.
Coraluzzo added that the drivers that are working in the D.C. area are making longer runs to get fuel.
"You come from Northern Virginia and we may have to go to Baltimore at this time," Coraluzzo said. "Baltimore has barge access, so there's plenty of gas in Baltimore for us to load. It just makes it a little bit more difficult."
Coraluzzo predicted that the stress will begin to ease by the end of the week now that the Colonial Pipeline has been restarted.
Meanwhile, drivers said the problems are being compounded by motorists who flood into gas stations when they see a truck on site. The result is traffic jams that further delay tanker truck drivers who find themselves blocked in.
"Please watch out for my big truck, because we really need more room," said driver David Mwimanzi said. "Just try to stay away a little bit from us. It'll be safer."
Several states in the region including Maryland, Delaware and Virginia have temporarily relaxed regulations for fuel transporters including allowing heavier loads and extended hours for some drivers.