JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Now that the country is reopening, more people are traveling and fewer people are driving trucks.
That means there are not enough truck drivers to deliver gas to the pumps. This could also mean an increase in gas prices this summer.
Priscila Correa owns her own company and truck, but leases a Forward Air trailer. She and her wife and two dogs drive for months at a time.
“It’s definitely not a job people want to do,” Correa said. “You’re away from family, friends. You’re away for the holidays.”
Correa said the never-ending truck driver shortage was made even worse by the pandemic.
Mark Jenkins, a spokesperson from AAA, said demand is up for products now that more people are vaccinated and traveling again, so the demand for truckers is up too.
“With that increased demand, I think that’s putting an overall sprain on the supply chain,” Jenkins said. “There might not be enough drivers to get that gasoline to the stations.”
But he said this won’t be a huge issue.
“It’s not so much that it’s going to be a widespread outage,” Jenkins said. “You might just see gas stations here and there without fuel.”
He said gas could hit $3 a gallon by Memorial Day.