Courtesy of Mish.
I have posted many charts by reader Tim Wallace that highlight declining oil consumption in the US.
James Beck, Lead Analyst, Weekly Petroleum Supply Team for the Energy Information Administration has also chimed in on the subject.
For example, please see my September 16, 2012 article Email From Lead Analyst, Weekly Petroleum Supply Team on Possibility of Recession.
Some readers have suggested improved gasoline mileage in cars is the primary reason.
However, that explanation is faulty (as Wallace and I have pointed out on numerous occasions) because mileage rates have steadily climbed over the years while the plunge in oil consumption happened abruptly at the start of the recession and never recovered.
OK, So Why the Drop?
Gail Tverberg on the “Our Finite World” blog explains in her excellent post Why is US Oil Consumption Lower? Better Gasoline Mileage?
Gail analyzes gas prices, miles driven, increased fuel mileage, and a decrease in industrialization. She concludes …
Summary of Where Oil Savings Comes From
As stated at the beginning of the post, United States oil consumption is about 4.7 million barrels a day lower in 2012 than would have been expected based on pre-2005 patterns. The way that this savings breaks out by product grouping is as follows:
click on chart for sharper image…
