http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2014-america-shakes-off-oil-addiction/
This graphic shows recent trends in oil consumption in the US (and imports/exports) while providing evidence for why these trends may be occurring. The most interesting, and probably the one that accounts for a large part of the difference, is the increased fuel efficiency in vehicles. Even a 1mpg difference in fuel efficiency averages out to probably a 4-6% less fuel consumed over the year (assuming an average of somewhat less than ~25mpg, as most of the cars being sold now according to the graphic have that kind of fuel efficiency; with many people using previous, less efficient models, it seems reasonable that the overall average would be lower).
It is also interesting to not the increased use of public transportation among the millennials, though this is also likely due in part to the fact that none can drive yet and many still need to take busses, trams, etc. to school.
Finally, the trend towards decreasing reliance on the OPEC nations for oil is nice; more US independence when it comes to reliable energy is always a good thing. All in all, this set of graphics shows a lot of interesting trends, the development of which will be fun to watch.
This was an interesting graphic. It begs the question, however, how this dramatic price lowering will affect the smaller US oil companies who's margins are much more tight.
ReplyDeleteIts good to see that the U.S in finally breaking off its oil dependency. The fact cars are becoming more fuel efficient is the leading cause for that. Hopefully this trend continues and the millennials can continue to break off the dependency on oil.
ReplyDeleteThe website gives many explanations as to why oil consumption will decrease in the next couple of years that I had never thought about such as baby boomers retiring and needing to drive less, and millenials moving to cities. This will be interesting as the decreased demand will lower price, negatively affecting economies who rely mostly on oil.
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