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Autumn/Winter 2021 25 most sectors, except for agriculture, rail and non-commercial heating. Members will need to use white diesel, which will still be allowed, or upgrade their equipment to alternative greener fuels such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO a bio fuel) and electric or solar powered vehicles. But this is a change which shouldn’t impact on fuel supplies. So, let’s get back to the petrol pump crisis that left some people high and dry. In fact, it may have been brewing as far back as July, with BP closing several retail sites temporarily then due to a shortage of fuel citing a lack of qualified tanker drivers, but this barely got a mention in the media at the time. So, what changed to prompt the frenzied buying spree over several days that saw long queues on forecourts and pumps go dry in hours? As mentioned, there were probably a combination of factors at play including the media and social platforms fuelling the story that there may be a minor shortage. Although these reports were qualified by stakeholders and government departments urging people not to panic buy. This plea for restraint usually has the opposite effect, and sure enough drivers began filling up with twice as much fuel as they had the week before. ALL HANDS TO THE PUMPS HAE member and Director at Centaur Fuel Management, John Stephenson, says the impact on his business was minimal. But several clients became nervous about supply issues as the rush to the pumps gathered momentum, and took measures to ensure that they didn’t run short of fuel. John believes the stampede to the pumps was driven by media, particularly social media, but also thinks the move fromE5 to the lower-carbon E10 petrol standard at UK filling stations from September, was also a factor. Fuel suppliers running down stocks as quickly as they could ahead of the rollout to comply with the government legislation and begin filling up with the greener fuel. He said: “A number of our clients hired or purchased tankers from third parties to pick up fuel as and when they could. But mainly it was the petrol retailers that have been hit the hardest. I expected the introduction of greener fuel to have an impact on supply. But ultimately the media panicked people who were normally putting £10 or £20 in a week to filling up with £50 worth.” While larger businesses do hold risk- dedicated fuel supplies on site, it’s not as easy as it sounds. For some it’s not an option economically. There’s also an issue of space, often there’s not room in a depot to have a fuelling point. Then there is the health and safety criteria involved to protect against leakages and fires. Like everybody else they are dependent on going to a petrol station. DOUBLE JEOPARDY HAE’s Public Affairs Manager, Mark Bradshaw, points out that a fuel crisis is a double-edged sword for plant hire. Though most of the equipment and machinery used on sites are diesel-driven, the same challenges apply filling up personal vehicles as the wider population affected by queues and dry pumps. He said: “Anything that impedes our members’ ability to serve their customers is obviously going to be of concern. Fuel shortages not only hinder vehicles our members operate themselves on a site but how they get to work. Take engineers for example. You’ve often got engineers travelling to sites using vans and so on. It’s not just trucks and transporting equipment that face issues.” PETROL CRISIS EASING At the time of writing the PRA, which represents nearly 5,500 of the UK’s filling stations, says the situation is improving. Day-to-day figures suggesting that stock levels are at close to normal again with the average filling station having 40% of their tanks full at any given moment. Executive Director at PRA, Gordon Balmer, said: “We’re seeing the queues disappear now, particularly in London and the south east so that’s good news. Was the switch to E10 partly to blame? It was a factor and didn’t help. Stocks of E5 were being run down in preparation for the higher doses of ethanol when this spike occurred. However, supply and demand were the major issue.” The issue of driver shortage is potentially set to be compounded with further strike action by staff at the DVLA over covid-related safety, which could leave thousands of unopened envelopes with new HGV driver requests, as well as HGV drivers looking to return to work coming off sick. Drivers can be trained but they also need a licence to operate. With construction output still struggling to get back to pre-pandemic levels, it remains to be seen if the fuel crisis adds to the soaring costs of materials and labour shortages (such as HGV drivers) that are filtering down as potential supply chain issues. What the industry doesn’t need is another temporary dip in activity, causing lengthy delays in completing projects. In addition to contending with issues around the supply of fuel, construction will potentially suffer a knock-on effect of skyrocketing wholesale gas prices. Manufacturers of building materials are heavy users of gas, as it’s an essential part of the production process. This worldwide increase in costs for energy is likely to filter through for builders by driving up market prices for concrete, cement and bricks. Many construction projects in the UK are reliant on the small andmedium-sized independent hire firms, the fuel shortage was another test of the continuing resilience of providers and end users alike in a key UK industry striving to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. << For more information visit www.hae.org.uk