U.S. Demand for Gasoline Faces Long-Term Structural Problem: Plunging Per-Capita Consumption

U.S. Demand for Gasoline Faces Long-Term Structural Problem: Plunging Per-Capita Consumption

Even as miles driven inched to a record and the population surged, gasoline consumption in 2024 was where it had been 20 years ago. By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET. Gasoline consumption in the US, in terms of product supplied to gas stations, inched up by 0.25% in 2024, to 8.97 million barrels per day, according to EIA data, below where consumption had first been 20 years ago in 2004, despite a population increase over the same period of 47 mill…

Refinery Shutdowns, Demand Squeeze U.S. Fuel Stocks

Refinery closures combined with growing demand for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel are about to start squeezing available volumes—and this squeeze is about to become marked next year. That’s according to the Energy Information Administration, which warned this would plunge inventories to the lowest levels since 2000. Two refineries are set to shut down this year, the EIA said in the latest edition of its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook. One is …