Quick Telecast
Expect News First

AdBlue shortage: Industry groups push for urgent task force as urea crisis looms

0 89


Industry groups are pleading with the Australian government to act amid reports supplies of a crucial item could dwindle within days.

Concerned industry groups are pleading with the government to urgently act on a looming crisis which could start to impact every Australian within a matter of days.

Alarm bells have been ringing for several weeks now regarding the global shortage of urea, a key ingredient found in diesel ­exhaust fluid (DEF) – also known as AdBlue – and a large component in fertiliser.

A major factor in the supply disruption is the fact China – which previously supplied 80 per cent of Australia’s urea supplies – has recently banned the export of the product, in order to lower fertiliser prices domestically.

That has left many countries in the lurch, and now it’s Australia’s turn, with insiders warning the problem could come to a head in the days and weeks ahead, or by February 2022 at the very latest.

The shortage has sparked panic as AdBlue is injected into the exhaust systems of modern diesel vehicles in order to reduce emissions, which is a mandatory requirement for trucks, private vehicles and tractors.

There are fears up to half of Australia’s truck fleet could be pulled off the road as a result – representing tens of thousands of vehicles – while tractors and farming equipment could also be out of action, along with some private cars.

That means Australia is facing the very real possibility of massively reduced supplies of everyday essentials like fruit, veggies and other groceries and pharmaceuticals.

As a result, the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is calling on the government to urgently form a task force to address potential AdBlue shortages.

Chair of the VFF’s Infrastructure and Transport Committee, Ryan Milgate, said AdBlue was used to reduce the level of nitrogen oxide emitted from a diesel motor and is common in newer Euro Six-compliant heavy vehicles and some agricultural machinery manufactured after 2015.

He said it was essential to keep Australia’s supply chains moving.

“Modern machinery and truck motors are designed to keep emissions within legal requirements,” he explained.

“Without sufficient AdBlue, some engines are programmed to stop working, rending them unable to operate.

“The agricultural supply chain is already under huge strain with truck driver shortages and global supply chain disruptions, and we can’t afford to put the supply chain under any more pressure.

“As farmers produce essential perishable goods, the supply of critical inputs like AdBlue is essential to maintaining our food security.”

Mr Milgate said the shortage was also a stark reminder of Australia’s over-reliance on international supplies, and that the VFF would be “asking the Federal Government to form an urgent task force to monitor this issue very closely”.

“This needs to be a big wake-up call about the risks of relying on concentrated international supply chains,” he said.

“We need to increase our domestic manufacturing capacity to increase Australia’s resilience to international supply chain shocks.

“It’s critical the AdBlue supply chain including manufacturers, the fertiliser industry, transport operators and government work together to address the shortages.”

Australian Steel Association CEO David Buchanan told news.com.au the steel industry and importers represented by his organisation were also “very concerned” about the impending impacts of the shortage.

“Steel is not only locally produced but also imported to Australia each year, to the volume of around two million metric tonnes,” he said.

“All of this imported steel must be transported from the port using semi trailers. Without trucking to get goods from the port, the ships that are incoming will be held at anchor and we would see a backlog of ships unable to unload. This would affect downstream users such as mining and construction distribution.”

Mr Buchanan said supply chain issues across the globe had already caused serious challenges during Covid, especially in regards to shipping costs for both containerised cargo and break bulk cargo.

He added that there was already a shortage of steel products at the moment due to the high demand from construction and infrastructure projects, further compounding the pressure.

“The shortage of AdBlue could lead to further pain for the members’ cost base, as increasing costs to transport will hit their profitability along with the capability to physically transport the goods, causing further impacts on the ports and possible congestion if vessels cannot unload their products,” he said.

The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) is another industry group demanding urgent action in the form of a task force to address the shortage.

CEO Warren Clark said although road transport would be hit first and hardest when supplies dry up, the problem was bigger than any one sector – and while the organisation met with the office of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce late last week to address the crisis, he said more action was needed.

“ … the Government does understand the potential for the shortage to bring road freight to a halt. But this is first and foremost an issue of supply,” Mr Clark said.

He said with 80 per cent of the Asia-Pacific region’s diesel exhaust fluid supplies drying up thanks to China, Trade Minister Dan Tehan needed to “find an alternative source”.

“The government needs to establish a task force of industry, with officials from relevant departments, so that we can all manage the shortage in the immediate term,” he said.

“This is going to have impacts on any anyone using late model diesel engines – from construction to farmers and eventually motorists.

“Modifying engines as a workaround is both illegal and impractical and expert advice is that this could cause damage.”

He said most expected crunch time to come in January, although it was impossible to know just how much AdBlue was available at the moment as people had began to stockpile it.

“We really don’t know how much is in the supply chain, and a handful of NatRoad members say they could run out as early as this week,” Mr Clark said.

“Diesel Exhaust Fuel is distributed both at retail bowsers and in bulk, with larger transport companies maintaining their own reserves.

“The Government needs to speak to those big operators and distributors and determine exactly how stock remains on hand.”

A spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Barnaby Joyce told news.com.au the government was “aware of the concerns around the supply and availability of AdBlue, and is continuing to monitor the situation while working with industry”.

“We encourage industry operators not to panic and to continue operating as they normally would,” the spokesman said.

It is understood the government established the Office of Supply Chain Resilience (within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet) earlier thisyear to provide ongoing capacity to monitor vulnerabilities and coordinate whole-of-government efforts to boost supply chain resilience.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is working with the Prime Minister and Cabinet to organise a strategic roundtable on Wednesday to discuss the supply and availability of AdBlue with industry and key government bodies.


Industry groups are pleading with the Australian government to act amid reports supplies of a crucial item could dwindle within days.

Concerned industry groups are pleading with the government to urgently act on a looming crisis which could start to impact every Australian within a matter of days.

Alarm bells have been ringing for several weeks now regarding the global shortage of urea, a key ingredient found in diesel ­exhaust fluid (DEF) – also known as AdBlue – and a large component in fertiliser.

A major factor in the supply disruption is the fact China – which previously supplied 80 per cent of Australia’s urea supplies – has recently banned the export of the product, in order to lower fertiliser prices domestically.

That has left many countries in the lurch, and now it’s Australia’s turn, with insiders warning the problem could come to a head in the days and weeks ahead, or by February 2022 at the very latest.

The shortage has sparked panic as AdBlue is injected into the exhaust systems of modern diesel vehicles in order to reduce emissions, which is a mandatory requirement for trucks, private vehicles and tractors.

There are fears up to half of Australia’s truck fleet could be pulled off the road as a result – representing tens of thousands of vehicles – while tractors and farming equipment could also be out of action, along with some private cars.

That means Australia is facing the very real possibility of massively reduced supplies of everyday essentials like fruit, veggies and other groceries and pharmaceuticals.

As a result, the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is calling on the government to urgently form a task force to address potential AdBlue shortages.

Chair of the VFF’s Infrastructure and Transport Committee, Ryan Milgate, said AdBlue was used to reduce the level of nitrogen oxide emitted from a diesel motor and is common in newer Euro Six-compliant heavy vehicles and some agricultural machinery manufactured after 2015.

He said it was essential to keep Australia’s supply chains moving.

“Modern machinery and truck motors are designed to keep emissions within legal requirements,” he explained.

“Without sufficient AdBlue, some engines are programmed to stop working, rending them unable to operate.

“The agricultural supply chain is already under huge strain with truck driver shortages and global supply chain disruptions, and we can’t afford to put the supply chain under any more pressure.

“As farmers produce essential perishable goods, the supply of critical inputs like AdBlue is essential to maintaining our food security.”

Mr Milgate said the shortage was also a stark reminder of Australia’s over-reliance on international supplies, and that the VFF would be “asking the Federal Government to form an urgent task force to monitor this issue very closely”.

“This needs to be a big wake-up call about the risks of relying on concentrated international supply chains,” he said.

“We need to increase our domestic manufacturing capacity to increase Australia’s resilience to international supply chain shocks.

“It’s critical the AdBlue supply chain including manufacturers, the fertiliser industry, transport operators and government work together to address the shortages.”

Australian Steel Association CEO David Buchanan told news.com.au the steel industry and importers represented by his organisation were also “very concerned” about the impending impacts of the shortage.

“Steel is not only locally produced but also imported to Australia each year, to the volume of around two million metric tonnes,” he said.

“All of this imported steel must be transported from the port using semi trailers. Without trucking to get goods from the port, the ships that are incoming will be held at anchor and we would see a backlog of ships unable to unload. This would affect downstream users such as mining and construction distribution.”

Mr Buchanan said supply chain issues across the globe had already caused serious challenges during Covid, especially in regards to shipping costs for both containerised cargo and break bulk cargo.

He added that there was already a shortage of steel products at the moment due to the high demand from construction and infrastructure projects, further compounding the pressure.

“The shortage of AdBlue could lead to further pain for the members’ cost base, as increasing costs to transport will hit their profitability along with the capability to physically transport the goods, causing further impacts on the ports and possible congestion if vessels cannot unload their products,” he said.

The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) is another industry group demanding urgent action in the form of a task force to address the shortage.

CEO Warren Clark said although road transport would be hit first and hardest when supplies dry up, the problem was bigger than any one sector – and while the organisation met with the office of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce late last week to address the crisis, he said more action was needed.

“ … the Government does understand the potential for the shortage to bring road freight to a halt. But this is first and foremost an issue of supply,” Mr Clark said.

He said with 80 per cent of the Asia-Pacific region’s diesel exhaust fluid supplies drying up thanks to China, Trade Minister Dan Tehan needed to “find an alternative source”.

“The government needs to establish a task force of industry, with officials from relevant departments, so that we can all manage the shortage in the immediate term,” he said.

“This is going to have impacts on any anyone using late model diesel engines – from construction to farmers and eventually motorists.

“Modifying engines as a workaround is both illegal and impractical and expert advice is that this could cause damage.”

He said most expected crunch time to come in January, although it was impossible to know just how much AdBlue was available at the moment as people had began to stockpile it.

“We really don’t know how much is in the supply chain, and a handful of NatRoad members say they could run out as early as this week,” Mr Clark said.

“Diesel Exhaust Fuel is distributed both at retail bowsers and in bulk, with larger transport companies maintaining their own reserves.

“The Government needs to speak to those big operators and distributors and determine exactly how stock remains on hand.”

A spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Barnaby Joyce told news.com.au the government was “aware of the concerns around the supply and availability of AdBlue, and is continuing to monitor the situation while working with industry”.

“We encourage industry operators not to panic and to continue operating as they normally would,” the spokesman said.

It is understood the government established the Office of Supply Chain Resilience (within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet) earlier thisyear to provide ongoing capacity to monitor vulnerabilities and coordinate whole-of-government efforts to boost supply chain resilience.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is working with the Prime Minister and Cabinet to organise a strategic roundtable on Wednesday to discuss the supply and availability of AdBlue with industry and key government bodies.

FOLLOW US ON GOOGLE NEWS

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! Quick Telecast is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.

Leave a comment
Ads Blocker Image Powered by Code Help Pro

Ads Blocker Detected!!!

We have detected that you are using extensions to block ads. Please support us by disabling these ads blocker.

buy kamagra buy kamagra online
Immediate Access Pro