The panic buying caused by the temporary Colonial Pipeline shutdown shows just how sensitive the nation's gas distribution system really is.

The pipeline, which was taken offline after a ransomware attack last week, was built during the 1960s to move fuel from the Gulf Coast up the East Coast. Since then, it's been shut down by storms, such as Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and emergencies, such as an explosion and some leaks in 2016.

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Gary Harris, executive director of North Carolina Petroleum & Convenience Marketers, the trade group for gas stations statewide, said North Carolina is too reliant on the single pipeline.

"It does cause problems for everyone, but what's the alternative?" Harris said Tuesday. "The system has served us well, but trying to upgrade it is going to be a monumental task."

Not only would another pipeline be prohibitively expensive, he said, there would be controversies over its path, along with similar vulnerabilities that the Colonial Pipeline has faced.

Harris said consumers need to calm down, and the latest "crisis" will quickly pass.

The 40 percent jump in fuel demand across the Southeast in recent days is driven by fear, not real need, he argued, comparing the run on gas to the run on toilet paper last year.

"This is an example of panic buying," he said. "People don't really need this product. They just want to make sure that their tanks are topped off.

"Basically, the entire [fuel] inventory in the state of North Carolina is on four wheels right now because everybody's bought it because they're scared," he added.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a waiver Tuesday for 12 states, including North Carolina, to allow lower-grade fuel to be added to the marketplace, boosting supplies.

Also, a state of emergency declared by Gov. Roy Cooper allows tanker drivers more hours and capacity to deliver fuel. But many companies that laid off truckers during the pandemic face challenges getting them back to work.

"We've got fewer drivers out there, so that is kicking in to pick up fewer loads," Harris said.

He predicted that gas supplies will continue to drain – and prices rise – at least into the weekend, so people need to exercise some patience. Colonial Pipeline officials said Monday that they expect to have most of the system back to normal operations by the end of the week.

"If people would stay in their regular purchasing modes, we'd probably be able to ride this out without any real bumps in the road. With the panic buying that we've seen, product has been bought up, so I'd limit my driving to just necessary things that I needed to do," he said.