DIESEL additive AdBlue is currently undergoing a supply crisis, with some predictions that the national supply could be exhausted as early as February next year.
AdBlue is an exhaust fluid which is added to modern diesel cars and trucks to lower pollution, by reducing emissions produced by these vehicles.
The shortage has been caused by a major shortage of urea, a critical component of AdBlue which is also used in some types of fertiliser.
Ray Kick, branch manager at Sunrise Ag Swan Hill is one local stockist who has run out of AdBlue supplies.
He said they only kept “a pallet of 20-30 drums” at any one time, however it sold out late last week.
With all his suppliers currently not taking any more orders of AdBlue for the considerable future, an indefinite timeline has been created on when more stock will become available.
Mr Kick said he isn’t too worried about his own stock levels, but has concerns about how the shortage could impact freight in the near future.
Brett Hosking, chair of Grain Growers Ltd from Quambatook, also said that whilst the shortages have had a limited impact on his personal operations, there was cause for concern on a national level.
“For sure, there is the need to talk about our vulnerable supply chains of these products which are used in the freight and agriculture industries,” Mr Hosking said.
“Today we are short of AdBlue, tomorrow it could be a chemical that is in short supply.”
Whilst Mr Hosking has yet to receive concerns from grain farmers about the shortages, he said members of the freight industry are wary about possible consequences if supplies dry up.
“We are monitoring the situation for now, however we don’t expect the entire supply to expire,” he said.
The crisis has caused alarm in the freight industries Australia-wide as vehicles which rely on AdBlue won’t start if their tanks are empty.
Trucks use roughly one litre of AdBlue every 70km, compared to cars which only need one litre to cover nearly 1000km.
If AdBlue were to run out in Australia, roughly half of Australia’s trucks could be off-road, as it is illegal to reprogram trucks to run without it.
Stockists and consumers are being urged to continue with business as usual in the meantime, as stockpiling will only create further supply issues due to AdBlue’s relatively short shelf life.
An Australian Government taskforce has been established to control and conduct a pathway out of the shortage, and they have secured a deal to receive a crucial supply from Indonesia, with further discussions taking place with Japan and Saudi Arabia.
