Washington, D.C. – Total petroleum deliveries in the U.S. were 19.9 million barrels per day in September, an increase of 2.5 per cent from September 2010, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API). Motor vehicle gasoline was up only 0.3 per cent, but demand for distillate and jet fuel was at a record high.
On a year-to-date basis, gasoline demand is down 1.3 per cent from 2010.
“The edging up of gasoline demand is consistent with the slightly improving consumer confidence numbers we’ve seen,” said API chief economist John Felmy. “The more robust growth in distillate demand reflects somewhat better news in the manufacturing and industrial sectors of our economy.”
U.S. refinery gasoline production was up by 3.0 per cent from September 2010 and at a record high on a year-to-date basis. Refinery inputs remained over 15 million barrels per day for the fourth month in a row, although it slipped from the month before partly due to the effects of Tropical Storm Lee.
Total petroleum imports were down in September by 9.9 per cent. Crude imports fell by 2.3 per cent and product imports fell by 37.0 per cent, but Canadian crude oil imported to the U.S. increased by 9.9 per cent from September 2010.
