AAA: Millennials Drive Increase In US Fuel Consumption Amid Low Prices

by Cameron Aubernon

Published: May 1st, 2015

aaa millennials drive increase in us fuel consumption amid low prices

With fuller wallets and lower prices at the pump, millennials are leading the charge toward the highest consumption among Americans since 2007.

AAA says motorists under 35 are nearly twice as likely to report increased driving than those above 35 because of the drop in gas prices, Chicago Tribune reports. The motoring group noted 13 percent of all drivers – 19 percent of drivers 18-34, 10 percent of those 35 and over – are putting more miles on their vehicles as a result of said decreases, which have fallen by $1 per gallon compared to last year.

Though oil companies blamed millennials for using mass transit and living in the city as two of the reasons for low demand for their offerings, they may soon have them to thank for reducing the glut in the supply chain – strengthening prices in so doing – as transportation analyst Alan Pisarski explained to the newspaper:

That millennial who didn’t even bother to get a car because they knew they couldn’t afford to buy it or the gasoline to drive it can now afford to go to the movies, afford to go to the beach, afford to go places with friends. Because of the economy coming around and fuel prices decreasing, they’re beginning to be able to afford these things again.

Demand for gasoline in the U.S. this year is expected to average 9.07 million barrels/day, compared to 8.92 million/day in 2014, as a result of lower prices at the pump. However, AAA says 17 percent believe $2.50/gallon is cheap while 39 percent claim it’s still too much; 58 percent agree $1.50/gallon is cheap.

The low prices have also affected wallets this year by adding $400 to each household’s bank account. The savings may come in handy on vacation or other long-distance travel: 6 in 10 Americans are more likely to drive 50 miles or more, with 68 percent of those under 35 making those plans compared to 57 percent 35 and over.

[Photo credit: Minale Tattersfield/ Flickr/ CC BY-SA 2.0]

#AAA #FuelConsumption #GasPrices #Millennials #Reports #UnitedStates

Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

More by Cameron Aubernon

Comments

Join the conversation

7 of 26 comments

Majo8 on May 01, 2015

Damn. Only .20 a gallon difference between regular and premium. There are Shell stations in Ohio that charge nearly .60 difference!

Like Reply
- See 4 previous
- Lorenzo on May 01, 2015
  
  The stations probably figure, if you can afford to own/lease a Mercedes or Beemer, you can afford the required premium.
  
  Like
- Pch101 on May 01, 2015
  
  @Lorenzo Gas stations make very little money on selling gas. If you ignore the convenience store, then your transaction will probably barely be little above breakeven. Refiners and gas stations like lower gas prices, since demand goes up and their margins are low. It's the oil companies that lose out when prices fall.
  
  Like
- Lorenzo on May 02, 2015
  
  @Pch101 The gas pumps are the loss leader to get you into the store. Stand-alone gas stations made a couple cents per gallon, but oil companies usually own a piece of the convenience stores connected to them. Look at Arco, Circle-K, Cumberland Farms in the northeast - the stores own the pumps, and some, like Cumberland Farms, actually owns branding rights to the gas. Those stores are getting bigger carrying more than soft drinks and junk food for travelers. In many urban areas, they serve as neighborhood grocery stores, so gas is just another low margin product, like a can of peas. They can charge Beemer Boy an extra 30 cents for premium, since they don't carry artisanal, organic, free range bread.
  
  Like
- 28-Cars-Later on May 02, 2015
  
  @Lorenzo I'm sure if varies but if you look at the RBOB and then add in applicable taxes in my area there is still a roughly 30 cent markup, which at 3.00 all in is a ten percent margin. I once asked a classmate in 2004 what his family's gas station paid for gas when they purchased it. He said they were paying $1.94 (inc all taxes) and the pump price at the time was $2.19. He followed this up with the credit card companies would take about 20 cents a gallon when used however cash deals still netted that 25 cents. So your reasonable margin but low profit to the reseller is really the result of bankster criminals yet again.
  
  Like
- Pch101 on May 02, 2015
  
  @Lorenzo The premium costs them more, too -- it really does cost more to produce a gallon of premium than a gallon of regular. And demand for premium is falling, so it presumably remains longer in inventory than it once did. The stations aren't benefiting much, if at all, from the higher price of premium.
  
  Like
Speedlaw on May 02, 2015

When college time came, it was a shock. You do realize rack rate for a first tier private college is 60k/year, before add ons. Private in state is a mere 25k/yr. It is three times more, adjusted for inflation, than my parents paid for a first tier private school I don't think that most older folks, ie those running things, really get how much a new grad is behind before they begin. Cars ? Oh, they like them and know them, but you have rent and a student loan payment that looks like rent. This wasn't the case in the 60's, 70's and 80's, but it is now. Having said that, I know a millenial who just bought a house with her SO and a Yaris, so she defies and confirms at once.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Alan My view is there are good vehicles from most manufacturers that are worth looking at second hand.I can tell you I don't recommend anything from the Chrysler/Jeep/Fiat/etc gene pool. Toyotas are overly expensive second hand for what they offer, but they seem to be reliable enough.I have a friend who swears by secondhand Subarus and so far he seems to not have had too many issue.As Lou stated many utes, pickups and real SUVs (4x4) seem quite good.
28-Cars-Later So is there some kind of undiagnosed disease where every rando thinks their POS is actually valuable?83K miles Ok.new valve cover gasket.Eh, it happens with age. spark plugsOkay, we probably had to be kewl and put in aftermarket iridium plugs, because EVO.new catalytic converterUh, yeah that's bad at 80Kish. Auto tranny failing. From the ad: the SST fails in one of the following ways:Clutch slip has turned into; multiple codes being thrown, shifting a gear or 2 in manual mode (2-3 or 2-4), and limp mode.Codes include: P2733 P2809 P183D P1871Ok that's really bad. So between this and the cat it suggests to me someone jacked up the car real good hooning it, because EVO, and since its not a Toyota it doesn't respond well to hard abuse over time.$20,000, what? Pesos? Zimbabwe Dollars?Try $2,000 USD pal. You're fracked dude, park it in da hood and leave the keys in it.BONUS: Comment in the ad: GLWS but I highly doubt you get any action on this car what so ever at that price with the SST on its way out. That trans can be $10k + to repair.
28-Cars-Later Actually Honda seems to have a brilliant mid to long term strategy which I can sum up in one word: tariffs.-BEV sales wane in the US, however they will sell in Europe (and sales will probably increase in Canada depending on how their government proceeds). -The EU Politburo and Canada concluded a trade treaty in 2017, and as of 2024 99% of all tariffs have been eliminated.-Trump in 2018 threatened a 25% tariff on European imported cars in the US and such rhetoric would likely come again should there be an actual election. -By building in Canada, product can still be sold in the US tariff free though USMCA/NAFTA II but it should allow Honda tariff free access to European markets.-However if the product were built in Marysville it could end up subject to tit-for-tat tariff depending on which junta is running the US in 2025. -Profitability on BEV has already been a variable to put it mildly, but to take on a 25% tariff to all of your product effectively shuts you out of that market.
Lou_BC Actuality a very reasonable question.
Lou_BC Peak rocket esthetic in those taillights (last photo)