Posted on 02/10/2012 10:49:46 AM PST by VA Voter
What other plausible explanation is there for the decline from 42.4 MGD in July 2011 to 30.9 MGD in November 2011 other than a dramatic decline in discretionary driving? That 27% drop in a few months in unprecedented, except in times of war or sharp economic contraction, i.e. recession.
If we stipulate that vehicles and fuel consumption are essential proxies for the U.S. economy, then we can expect a steep decline in economic activity to register in other metrics within the next few months.
Such a sharp drop would of course be "unexpected" given the positive employment data of the past few months. But as the data above shows, employment isn't tightly correlated to gasoline consumption: gasoline consumption reflects recession and growth.
In other words, look out below.
(Excerpt) Read more at oftwominds.com ...
Also, 11% fewer people driving to work.
Also, 11% fewer people driving to work.
That’s just staggering!!
It’s ‘real’ data too. Not something that has been statistically ‘whitewashed’ by .gov bureaucrats.
Very interesting, and maybe a harbinger for economic disaster indeed. However, I would suspect that July driving is ALWAYS much higher than November in normal times. Vacations, more later in the day activites, etc.
However, something to look at for sure.
Must be all those Chevy Volts on the road!/
The past few months have been even more grim than usual for the immediate pre- and post-Christmas period for some contractors of my acquaintance. Roofers are still getting work, but calls for discretionary projects like new flooring and interior painting are way down.
Demand curves are rarely linear. They can have ceilings and floors representing the demand where price is zero or arbitrarily high.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Interesting. Gasoline consumption has dropped off the charts as has dry shipping. All this seems in direct opposition to government/media reports.
Because we’re all driving our new Volts? /sarc
A better question along the same lines is why did all global commodities soar and stay up there?
I believe it is the Obama risk factor.
Everyone has discounted and moving to their expectations of a lousy presidency.
Yep, if you look at a chart of several years of US gasoline consumption, you get a distinct annual peak-and-valley look, with the peak in summer and the valley in winer, and the oddball being the massive dropoff due to $4+/gallon gas in 2008.
This analysis would have a lot more meaning if it compared December 2010 to December 2011. But in Googling the basic concept, you can see that December 2011 gasoline consumption was the lowest in 15 years, so something is afoot. But this story gives us no working idea of the scope of such.
$3.55/gal
It might be just me but paying $3.79 for a gallon this morning, well my driving has decreased. Waiting for my neighbor to pay me the $10 dollars I loaned her from Monday so she could get to work. I plan to tell her to keep it but only if she offers to pay it back. n/s
Why is price currently going up, diesel fuel will hit $4.50 a gal by mid march.
Uh, will this be on the test?
But seriously...gas now approaching $4 again despite the deplorable economy. One shudders to think what the price would be with any economic growth to speak of.
I’m not rooting for $5 gas but it would demonstrate the absolute insanity and inaction of Obama’s Middle East policies. We have been waiting decades for some of these oil-rich strongmen to be deposed and their own people have done the job for us. Do we attempt to foster a new era of relations (at best) or install puppets (at worst)? No, we allow more bloodthirsty savages to institute mob rule under real theocracies, not the kind liberals claim exists in the US. In short, the demand figures mask an even longer-term problem in terms of geopolitics.
not as many going to work, oh wait the unemployment is down, ARF, yes and millions have dropped out of the work force, been forced into early retirement , etc
Gas was less then $2 when Bush left now it is nearly 3 and a half or over but the MSM does not seem to want to think a that as news worthy but did when BUSH WAS IN
One thing we know, the effect of newer high mileage cars is small because the AVERAGE car on the road now in the US is 10.8 years old, an all time high.
I’ve been watching the fuel consumption stats with great interest since Tim Wallace started sending in charts to Shedlock a couple months ago.
If this means what I think it does, Baraq is a guaranteed loser come Nov 2012.
The economy just can’t handle $100 oil and $4/gal fuel.
$50-70 is where the economy can recover while still allowing oil development.
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