California gasoline consumption down 2.8% in June, 3.6% in Q2
30 September 2011
In California, gasoline consumption declined 2.8% in June 2011 and 3.6% in Q2 2011, according to figures from the State Board of Equalization. Diesel fuel consumption declined 3.1% in June 2011 and rose 0.9% in second quarter 2011.
In June 2011, California’s gasoline consumption decreased 2.8% to 1.22 billion gallons of gasoline compared to last year when 1.26 billion gallons of gasoline were consumed. June’s average price for a gallon of gasoline in California rose 84 cents to $3.97, a 27% increase compared to last June when the average price was $3.13 per gallon of gasoline. Nationally, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in June was up 95 cents to $3.74 per gallon, a 34% increase over the average price of a gallon of gasoline of $2.79 last year in June.
In second quarter 2011, California’s gasoline consumption declined 3.6%, with a total of 3.66 billion gallons of gasoline compared to 3.80 billion gallons of gasoline in the second quarter last year. In California, the average price of gasoline per gallon rose 99 cents to $4.13 in second quarter 2011, a 32% increase over last year’s average price of $3.14 per gallon in second quarter 2010. Nationally, the average price of gasoline rose 99 cents to $3.85 in second quarter 2011, a 35% increase over last year’s US average price of $2.86 per gallon of gasoline in second quarter 2010.
In June 2011, diesel consumption declined 3.1% for a total of 243 million gallons compared to the total of 251 million gallons of diesel in June 2010. In California, the average price of a gallon of diesel fuel was up $1.11 to $4.21 per gallon in June 2011, a 36% increase over the average price of a gallon of diesel of $3.10 in June 2010. Nationally, the average price of a gallon of diesel was up 98 cents to $3.93 in June 2011, a 33% increase over the average US price of a gallon of diesel of $2.95 in June 2010.
In the second quarter 2011, diesel consumption increased 0.9% to 667 million gallons compared to 661 million gallons in the second quarter 2010. In California, the average price of diesel fuel in second quarter 2011 increased $1.16 to $4.33, a 37% increase compared to $3.17 price per gallon of diesel in second quarter 2010. Nationally, the average price of diesel fuel in second quarter 2011 was up 98 cents to $4.01, a 32% increase over second quarter 2010’s average US price of $3.03 per gallon of diesel.
Gasoline and diesel fuel figures are net consumption that includes the State Board of Equalization’s audit assessments, refunds, amended and late tax returns and the State Controller’s Office refunds.
The State Board of Equalization is able to monitor gallons through tax receipts paid by fuel distributors in California. Figures for July 2011 are scheduled to be available at the end of October 2011. Figures for third quarter 2011 will be available at the end of December 2011.
The California gas consumption continues to go down there because of all the people doing nothing & collecting unemployment and other government benefits. More people commuting to work and actually doing work = higher gas consumption.
Posted by: ejj | 30 September 2011 at 10:24 AM
I wonder what the population of the State of California has done over the same period? I'll bet it has gone down... The State of California is so messed up, people are loosing their jobs and leaving the state... Of doing as ejj suggested - staying home and collecting unemployment...
Posted by: Walt D | 30 September 2011 at 12:05 PM
My family is working the same as last year, but we've cut our gas consumption by 60%. Did this by replacing a 24 mpg car with a LEAF and driving the remaining gas car (a Prius) less.
We'll probably buy about 200 gallons of gas a year now when we used to buy 600. Tempted to get a plug-in Prius to replace the Prius - would probably get down to 50 gallons of gas a year or less...
Posted by: Dave R | 30 September 2011 at 12:15 PM
Dave R...you are one of the very few smart (less than 0.001%) families with a Leaf.
ejj...you may be right on. California's active fleet consumption has not changed that much yet. How much less driving will take place after unemployment pay checks run out or after November 2012, whichever comes first.
DaveR...California's GNP may not have gone down that much because 60% of it is composed of local purchases of made in Asia goods. The local production portion has been going down for many years but that is not considered.
Posted by: HarveyD | 30 September 2011 at 01:21 PM
@ejj: Unemployment is not a vacation--benefits are paltry, and anyone with a life is trying hard to find work.
Just sayin'...
Posted by: Nick Lyons | 30 September 2011 at 06:13 PM
NL...you are correct but what happens to local employment when manufacturing facilities move out? Almost (soon to be) 3+ B people in China and India can produce more lower cost manufactured goods than the world needs. One way out may be to feed them with much higher cost food products, if we can convince them to eat as much as we do. Instead of using good farm land to produce liquid fuel, we could go back to edible food farming and become the world's food industry. Exporting more high price grains, rice, meat and many other food products may be a way to reduce our growing trade deficit. Bio-fuels could be made with local coal, NG, SG, shale oil, wastes etc.
Would our unemployed factory workers accept to become lower paid farmers? Short of trade wars, they may not have the choice.
Posted by: HarveyD | 01 October 2011 at 10:54 AM