The White House is easing some restrictions on the shipment of gasoline and other fuels by truck as a growing number of gas stations run out of fuel in the Southeast.
The shortage developed after a cyberattack led to the shutdown of a major U.S. fuel pipeline, sparking widespread panic-buying from drivers worried about potential supply disruptions.
According to data from the app GasBuddy, as of Wednesday morning, at least 15% of gas stations have no gasoline in Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina, with South Carolina not far behind.
Those statewide averages don't capture the scope of the problem in certain metro areas, however, as a number of Southern cities are experiencing outages at 75% of their gas stations, or even more.
Meanwhile, the average price of gasoline in the U.S. has topped $3 a gallon for the first time in seven years. Prices had been rising even before the pipeline crisis as the summer driving season coincided with a nationwide economic revival. But analysts said the pipeline hack and fuel hoarding may be adding several cents per gallon, helping push prices over the $3 mark.
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