Panic buying: Long rows form as UK gas pumps run dry

Up to 90% of U.K. gas stations across major English cities ran dry after panic buying deepened a supply chain crisis triggered by a shortage of truckers.

An out of use sign is seen on a pump at a petrol station after the current outbreak of fuel panic buying in the U.K., in Manchester, England, Sept. 27, 2021.

The British government will temporarily exempt the oil industry from the Competition Act of 1998, which will allow companies to share information and target fuel deliveries in parts of the country where retail supply is lowest.

Vehicles queue to refill at a Texaco fuel station in south London, Britain, Sept. 26, 2021.

People push a car that has run out of petrol the final few meters on to the forecourt as vehicles queue to refill at a Texaco fuel station in south London, Sept. 26, 2021.

Vehicles queue to refill at a Texaco fuel station in London, Sept. 27, 2021.

A fuel delivery is made to a petrol station that had run out of fuel after an outbreak of panic buying in the U.K., in Manchester, Sept. 27, 2021.

Members of the public are seen at a petrol station in Manchester, Sept. 27, 2021.

A sign indicating that fuel has run out is seen at a petrol station in Manchester, Sept. 27, 2021.

Closed pumps are seen on the forecourt of a petrol station in Manchester that ran out of fuel after an outbreak of panic buying, Sept. 27, 2021.

A sign indicating that fuel has run out is seen at a petrol station in Manchester, Sept. 27, 2021.

Fuel pumps are marked "Sorry out of use" as a Shell petrol station waits for a delivery in Northwich, Sept. 27, 2021.

A tanker driver refills unleaded and diesel fuel at a Tesco petrol station off Western Avenue in Cardiff, Sept. 27, 2021.

A Tesco worker guides cars into a Tesco petrol station off Western Avenue that recently reopened after a fuel refill in Cardiff, Sept. 27, 2021.

A BP petrol station that has run out of fuel is seen in Hemel Hempstead, Sept. 26, 2021.

Vehicles queue to refill outside a Shell fuel station in central London, Sept. 26, 2021.

Vehicles queue to refill at a Texaco fuel station in south London, Sept. 26, 2021.