Remarks
Peak Gas Has Passed, and Higher Prices Might Be Next
The rise of EVs helped reduce consumption, while cutbacks in refinery capacity could boost costs.
Illustration: George Wylesol for Bloomberg Businessweek
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In 2018, Americans burned an average of 392 million gallons of gasoline a day, an all-time high. In 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration, that was down to 369 million. Lower prices at the pump might drive consumption slightly higher this year, but it looks as if the 2018 peak will never be revisited.
Reduced driving is one cause of the decline. Vehicle miles traveled had already been falling on a per capita basis before the pandemic, and the shift to remote work that followed brought an overall drop.