Gas prices rising in Washington, Idaho, but similar to 2019

With more than 9,500 gas stations along the East Coast out of fuel Wednesday following the cyberattack earlier this month that temporarily shut down the Colonial Pipeline, fuel supplies remain at normal levels in Washington and Idaho headed into the Memorial Day travel period next week.

Gas prices continue to tick up, however. According to AAA Washington, the average price of gas in Washington on Wednesday was $3.55 a gallon and $3.24 in Idaho.

“It’s been going up for the past little while,” AAA spokeswoman Kelly Just said.

While the impact of the Colonial Pipeline hack May 7 continues to cause shortages on the East Coast and into the South, it’s had no affect on supplies elsewhere, she said.

“There isn’t a gas shortage in general. We have plenty of supply and we have enough supply to meet the demand,” she said. “The one thing that is kind of clogging up the system, per se, is a lack of drivers who are qualified to drive tanker trucks.”

When the coronavirus pandemic hit last year, most travelers stayed at home and demand fell like a rock.

“So, a lot of those truck drivers lost their jobs and have moved on,” Just said. “A lot of them are Amazon drivers now. Now that demand is resurging, there is a driver shortage. That will probably go on throughout the summer driving season.”

As a result, some gas stations have had delays of one to two days in getting a resupply. But it has not resulted in empty gas pumps, she said.

“There is no lack of supply, just some difficulty in getting it where it needs to go,” she said. “It’s just isolated incidents.”

Even with the typical increase in gas prices for this time of year, AAA Travel earlier this month predicted that about 37 million people – and roughly 882,000 Washington residents – are expected to travel more than 50 miles from home May 27-31.

While those predictions represent a 60% increase nationally and 66% increase for the state from 2020 in the first year of the pandemic, it’s still the lowest estimate on record since AAA began recording in 2000.

The travel weekend is the unofficial launch of the spring and summer travel season. The Washington state Department of Commerce reported that air travel is steadily increasing, but most vacationers are expected to travel by car because of lingering concerns about the pandemic.

“People are eager to travel, and because of the pandemic we’re expecting to see a lot more folks making stops at gas stations,” said Elizabeth King, the state energy emergency management director at the Commerce Department. “While fuel supplies are healthy, gas stations are sometimes seeing a delay in fuel deliveries so we want people to be prepared in case they have to make a few stops.”

Both King and Just suggested travelers plan fuel stops in advance of their travel, especially in rural areas with limited services.

As for the higher fuel prices, the price for gas on Wednesday was much higher than the same week in 2020. Last year at this time, the average price for a gallon of gas in Washington was $2.47 and $2.01 in Idaho.

However, Just attributed that to the lack of demand.

“If you compare it to last year, it’s just sticker shock,” Just said. “But, nobody was driving last year.”

Comparing the price to 2019, the average price of a gallon of gas in Washington was $3.54 and Idaho was $3.21 for this week.

“So, we are in line with what usually happens,” Just said. “That one year seems like a shock because we are crawling out of our holes and filling up more often.”

Those prices are expected to plateau after the initial travel season ends, she said.

“Prices started climbing a little earlier than usual, which I think caused the concern,” Just said. “But we are where we normally are for prices.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.