Many of us are used to seeing the warning lights telling us our cars are about to run out of fuel.
But we do not expect the same to happen at the garages we rely on to fill our vehicles up again.
In recent weeks, drivers across Dundee, Fife, Perthshire and Angus have had to become more familiar with their dashboards flashing at them – as numerous forecourts have run dry, albeit temporarily.
The Courier has been investigating why retailers are apparently facing struggles to keep supplies going.
What is the issue?
We have received reports of stations having little or no fuel – particularly diesel – at various points throughout the last week, and beyond.
These include:
Dundee
- Asda Milton of Craigie: All fuel (Saturday).
- Tesco Kingsway: Diesel (Monday).
- Tesco Riverside: Diesel (Tuesday).
- Asda Myrekirk: Diesel (Tuesday).
Fife
- Sainsbury’s Kirkcaldy: Diesel (Monday and Tuesday).
- Asda Kirkcaldy: All fuel (Monday and Tuesday).
- Shell Kirkcaldy: Diesel (Monday).
- Tesco Dunfermline town centre: Diesel (Saturday and Tuesday).
- Tesco Dunfermline Duloch: All fuel (Sunday).
- Morrisons Glenrothes: All fuel (Tuesday).
- Asda Glenrothes: All fuel (Friday).
- Sainsbury’s Leven: All fuel (Sunday).
Perthshire
- Tesco Perth Crieff Road: Diesel (Tuesday).
- Tesco Scone: Diesel (Sunday).
- Morrisons Perth: Diesel (Monday).
- Gulf Blair Atholl: All fuel (Tuesday).
Angus
- Morrisons Arbroath: Diesel (Friday).
- BP Kirriemuir: Unleaded (late March).
- Shell Montrose: Diesel (Thursday)
- Esso Montrose: Diesel (Thursday)
Why are stations running out?
The Courier has put questions to retailers and organisations – and no single reason has been credited with causing the disruption.
The industry insists there is not a shortage of fuel, but there is thought to be a range of factors affecting how quickly it reaches the customer.
This includes protests at oil refineries in England, rising demand in the wake of Covid and fluctuating prices due to the war in Ukraine.
Some fuel suppliers are having to reschedule deliveries and our members are working closely with them
Petrol Retailers Association
We asked the UK Petrol Retailers Association, which represents independent outlets, whether it could explain what was causing stations to run out.
In a statement it said: “We are aware of protests at a number of fuel supply sites, however the majority of terminals are currently unaffected.
“PRA has not had any members contacting regarding supply issues.
“Some fuel suppliers are having to reschedule deliveries and our members are working closely with them and following their advice.”
Supermarkets say ‘no major issues’
We contacted major fuel retailers, including supermarkets, to ask why some of their stations had experienced temporary shortages.
A spokesman for Asda said he was “not aware of any issues”, despite the experiences of customers.
He added: “The demand [for fuel] has increased gradually as the public return to pre-pandemic working and travelling habits, but this isn’t a sudden change, we are capable of managing increased demand as and when it arises.”
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s has also played the issue down, saying: “We continue to routinely monitor all our sites and we’re not seeing any major issues. All our sites continue to receive fuel.”
When asked about the issue by The Courier last week, Morrisons told us: “We are seeing an increase in demand for our fuel at the moment but there is not a shortage and we would encourage customers to keep to their normal shopping habits to prevent any disruption.
“Our filling stations are receiving daily deliveries and our teams are working around the clock to ensure a good supply.”
Meanwhile, Esso said there “may have been some slight delays to deliveries to some sites earlier in the week” but that all its sites were “well stocked”.
It did not confirm what had caused the delays.
Tesco, BP and Shell have not responded to our requests for comment.
Independent retailers ‘in the dark’
Derek Crighton has has to close the pumps at his garage in Blair Atholl after running out of fuel on Tuesday, with a delivery expected on Friday.
He says he was told the delay was down to “a supply issue at Grangemouth” but has not been told any more, and is “in the dark” like everyone else.
He told The Courier: “This has never happened to us before, even during the crisis last year we never ran out of fuel. It’s frustrating.
“We also run our own vehicles and mostly buy fuel from our own pumps.
“But now we are facing a journey of seven miles south to Pitlochry or 25 miles north to Dalwhinnie.
“I feel like we are letting people down. You can’t help but feel disappointed.”
Barrie Ewart, director at the only petrol station in Kirriemuir, says the garage ran out of unleaded petrol on one occasion about a fortnight ago.
He says a delivery was also delayed – with the protests and the absence of delivery drivers due to Covid having an impact.
Barrie believes some retailers may be waiting longer before ordering more supplies.
“For example, they could be waiting for credit card payments to come in as they are finding it difficult to finance it otherwise,” he said.
“People think with the rising costs that petrol stations are getting loads of money back from it but we actually only get a certain number of pence per litre.
“We can take between four and six pence per litre but are currently taking 4.5 pence to keep it as cheap as possible.
Some people are putting £10 in and not understanding why it doesn’t serve them as well as it used to
“The price of each delivery has increased and then on top, we’ve got to pay our staff, electricity and overall running costs which are also going up.
“Some people are putting £10 in and not understanding why it doesn’t serve them as well as it used to.
“I’ve had customers tell me they used to go to Dundee and back on a tenner but now it’s only taking them as far as Forfar.”
Martin Lewis: Latest tips from money saving guru on surviving cost of living crisis
