U.S. Gasoline Consumption at Record High

The combination of cheap fuel prices, a booming economy, and the popularity of fuel-thirsty vehicles is causing U.S. drivers to burn record amounts of gasoline this year. The federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that gasoline consumption in the nation averaged a record 336 million gallons a day through the first eight months of the year, peaking at 356 million gallons a day during July. The EIA data comes on top of new fuel-mileage statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency showing that fuel-efficiency in American vehicles has ceased to grow. Nine of 10 vehicles on the road in the U.S. now get fewer than 30 miles per gallon and nearly one-fifth get fewer than 20.