Midwest mulls gov’t help with gasoline crunch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Fuel marketers in the Midwest are considering asking for government help to ease a gasoline supply crunch that has pushed pump prices in the region well above the already record-high national average.

Retail gasoline prices in Chicago are running about $3.54 a gallon compared with the nationwide average of $3.13, according to a AAA motor club survey, as a spate of refinery outages concentrated in the heartland saps stockpiles.


“We need supply to go up and we need demand to level off. That is a problem not just in our state but in the United States,” said Bill Fleischli, executive vice president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association.

Fuel marketers said they are mulling requesting waivers that would allow truckers to drive more hours to get additional supplies to the market, or permission to temporarily sell gasoline that doesn’t meet federal environmental regulations.

Reuters