BISMARCK (AP) -- North Dakota gasoline prices are reported among the highest the country, and retailers say they have no idea how long the surge will last.
"We don't have an answer," said Perry Palm, an operator at the Magellan Pipeline Terminal in West Fargo, which is facing its second shortage of supplies in a month. "At this point, I can't really tell anything."
Three refineries in the region are either shut down or running at limited capacity due to bad weather.
On Friday, North Dakota gasoline prices were ranked the sixth highest among the states at an average of $3.266 a gallon for regular unleaded, AAA's Fuel Guage Report said. Michigan was the highest at $3.345 per gallon.
Industry officials have said short supplies due to refinery problems are driving up prices in the Midwest.
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"(There are) outages in South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas. Everyone's struggling," said Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Marketer's Association.
"It's so hard to get right now. We just topped off our tanks when we could get it," said Mark Leischner, who owns Unistop in Bismarck.
"High gas prices are not good for anybody," said LaRayne Haakenson, an area supervisor for Stamart. For the last six months, she said, retailers have been making no profit or had a less than a five-cent margin on gasoline. Transportation and staffing costs have gone up in the search for supplies, she said.
"Fuel supplies just aren't keeping up with demand in this country," Haakenson said.
