gasoline shortages in china

This is going to happen here in the US eventually, give it time; soon cars will be obsolete, that's why I bought a bike recently.

Gasoline stations jammed as fuel crisis deepens

Dennis Ng

August 12, 2005

An increasingly acute fuel shortage in southern China is reaching crisis proportions, with long lines of trucks and cars at filling stations throughout Shenzhen and other areas.

Recent news reports in Guangdong said many filling stations in the fast- growing province have run low on fuel because of Typhoon Haitang, which hit Taiwan in the middle of last month and kept many oil tankers out of harbor.

Some reports said mainland firms are balking at supplying the domestic market because it is unprofitable. Other reports said some filling stations are withholding retail supplies out of fear that wholesalers will be unable to deliver to them in the near future.

Both truck and car drivers reported having to go from one filling station to another and facing long lines to find fuel. Because prices of gasoline are so much lower in Shenzhen and other areas over the border, Hong Kong drivers often go over the border to fill up.

As an example of the problems truckers face, a major transport union said Thursday that rising prices may force hundreds of self-employed container truck drivers and dozens of transport firms to impose a fuel surcharge to transport goods from Guangdong factories to Hong Kong container terminals.

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