This has less to do with supply and demand and more to do with the Energy Policy Act of 2005. There is NO SHORTAGE it is simply the transition to ethanol laced fuel.
Instead of a deadline- couldn't they phase the ethanol change over 12 months to reduce the impact?
I layed in a three month supply of Diesel over the Easter weekend. I'll spend this summer building infrastructure to store up to nine to twelve months worth (A big old truck capable of holding and hauling some old home fuel oil tanks). This is pathetic for most to think the government has to so something. In fact it's unAmerican. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.
Yes, that is causing a temporary shortage because all the suppliers have to drain their storage tanks, clean out the water, and install a new type of filter before they can fill them back up with corn whiskey. Add 25 cents a gallon because of this move. I don't really oppose the ethanol blend, it's actually better gas, but it need not be so expensive. The core problem is still a lack of refinery capacity, and a stupid anti-drilling blockade in congress.