Karen Matusic | 202.682.8118 | matusick@api.org
WASHINGTON, June 18, 2008 – U.S. gasoline demand in May, as measured by deliveries, fell 1.4 percent below year-ago levels, dragging year-to-date demand for gasoline down one percent, the first gasoline demand drop for the January-May period since 1991, API data show.
According to API’s Monthly Statistical Report, year-to-date oil demand continues to lag behind 2007 levels. U.S. oil deliveries from January through May 2008 averaged 20.2 million barrels per day, 2.5 percent below the first five months of 2007.
Despite rising prices, May deliveries of distillate fuel oil rose 5.5 percent from May 2007 to a record 4.3 million barrels per day for the month because of a big rise in low-sulfur diesel demand. Jet fuel demand rose 5.1 percent in May versus year-ago levels, the highest level since last August and the first year-to-year increase in seven months.
“Gasoline demand has weakened with higher prices, but diesel demand has proved to be more resilient,“ said Ron Planting, manager, information and analysis, for API. “The needs of highway freight transportation are inherently less flexible than consumers’ travel behavior.”
U.S. refiners produced record amounts of distillate and ultra-low sulfur diesel in May while jet fuel output rose 6.6 percent. Amid weakening demand, U.S. production of gasoline dipped below year-ago level by 0.8 percent in May. As scheduled maintenance and turnaround activity wound down in May, refinery crude oil inputs, a measure of overall processing levels, averaged nearly 15.7 million barrels per day in May, up 3.6 percent from April and above year-ago levels. U.S. refiners used 89.2 percent of their operable capacity in May, up from April levels.
U.S. oil imports fell 11.7 percent from year-ago levels to average 12.5 million barrels per day, the lowest level for May since 2002. Refined products imports plummeted more than 21 percent from year-ago levels to average 3 million barrels per day in May. Crude imports averaged 9.5 million barrels a day, down more than 8 percent from May 2007.
Domestic crude oil production rose to a six-month high in May, rising above 5.1 million barrels a day, a 1.2 percent increase from April. But it was the sixth monthly year-to-year decline in a row. Year-to-date production is running some 2.6 percent below the same period a year-ago.
Updated: April 9, 2009