"We'll have to stop driving within the week": Diesel additive shortage puts cargo drivers on edge

China has put a de facto embargo on one of the key components used to cut emissions in diesel vehicles

Caption 6-1: With the supply of Chinese urea essentially cut off, one diesel exhaust fluid production company in the city of Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, hangs a notice on Thursday notifying customers that they have sold out of diesel exhaust fluid. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

Drivers of cargo trucks and heavy equipment are getting burned due to a shortage of the diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) needed to run their vehicles.

The price of the aqueous urea solution has jumped tenfold, and the suspension of DEF sales at gas stations has fueled fears of a looming transportation crisis.

With the government having failed to devise effective measures other than cracking down on stockpiling the additive, individuals have struck out on their own through measures like searching for DEF on secondhand marketplaces and buying it directly from abroad.

The Korean Construction Workers Union on Thursday held a single-person protest in front of Government Complex-Seoul, with demands reading, "The government must be held responsible for the surge in DEF prices," and, "Prepare a contingency plan for workers in the suspended construction machinery sector."

DEF removes nitrogen oxides and is used in devices installed in diesel vehicles to reduce exhaust. From January to September this year, the nation imported 97 percent of its urea supply from China.

Urea, also known as carbamide, is manufactured using coal as a raw material. As the mineral's price has shot up, China has effectively blocked the liquid's export by requiring customs inspections of exports. In Korea, an estimated 560,000 trucks (excluding imports) and a million passenger cars require DEF to run.

On-site drivers of cargo trucks and heavy equipment normally used 10 liters of DEF priced at 6,000-10,000 won in the span of two to three days, but getting your hands on the additive is now proving difficult even at higher prices.

With the supply of Chinese urea essentially cut off, one diesel exhaust fluid production company in the city of Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, hangs a notice on Thursday notifying customers that they have sold out of diesel exhaust fluid. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

Ready-mix concrete worker Kim Gwang-hyeon, 43, said, "Gas stations ran out, so I reserved some on [the online second-hand market application] Karrot yesterday for 60,000 won," adding, "I've even considered mixing urea with water to make it."

Dump truck driver Jeong Jin-cheol, 52, said, "Gas stations don't sell DEF at all. At this rate, we’ll have to stop driving our trucks within the week."

Second-hand good marketplace Karrot showed the price of DEF soaring to the level of 100,000 won per 10 liters.

The DEF shortage has rattled even passenger car owners. One 40-year-old owner of a diesel-powered passenger car said that based on a notice to get more DEF after driving 1,400 kilometers, he searched for it at a nearby supermarket.

"You can't get DEF anywhere — not supermarkets or the internet," the owner said.

"I can handle it in the short term, but I'm worried about the future."

By Park Su-ji, Park Gang-su, Park Jong-o and Lee Seung-wook; staff reporters

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