Gasoline and diesel are the two major types of petroleum fuels that are used in personal and commercial vehicles in the United States, and they are the primary products that are produced from the process of refining crude oil. In the year 2007, consumption of fuels in the US was approximately 142 billion gallons, which equates to an average of 390 million gallons being used each day.
Even though gas prices escalated considerably all through 2007 and during the course of 2008 as well, the demand for and consumption of gasoline and diesel has remained fairly constant. This fact simply serves to illustrate that even though the American consumer is unhappy, complains loudly, and is disgruntled with the high gasoline prices they encounter at gas stations, they are essentially unwilling to make significant changes in their lifestyles and are instead begrudgingly paying the higher prices at the pump.
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This is also true of a great number of businesses as well. While the costs of gasoline and diesel continues to rise, which has driven up the expense of running fleets of company cars and trucks, the fact of the matter is that there has not been much effort put toward discovering or creating viable alternatives, even in light of the increase in fuel costs.
For the most part, there seems to be a somewhat lackadaisical sentiment on the part of many businesses that are confronted by higher fuel costs. Many companies simply chalk up the rising fuel costs to the "cost of doing business" and pass their increased costs along to the consumers. As a result, high inflation is rearing it ugly head in an economy that has enjoyed many years of minor inflation.
Retail prices of gasoline and diesel are primarily governed by the price of crude oil, as well as the level of supply of these fuels as compared to the current demand for them. In recent years, there has not only been a strong continued demand for the various petroleum products that the world depends on, but the demand has been increasing across the globe as other countries have become more and more dependent on gasoline powered vehicles. In China, their gasoline consumption has reached and all-time high.
Even during times when the price of crude and the demand is relatively steady, there are still fluctuations that are seen in the price of gasoline and diesel, which is due to seasonal supply and demand, as well as competition amongst local retail fuel stations. At the same time, gas prices can change quite abruptly and spike quickly if something happens that seriously disrupts the supply of available crude oil for processing, such as problems at refineries or if the delivery pipelines are disabled.
Many of these factors came into play when hurricane Katrina hit the US in 2005, which was an event that seemed to exacerbate the already rising prices of gasoline and diesel. Until there are viable alternative fuels that are affordable, efficient and widely available, there does not seem to be any end to the reliance that the United States and the world has on crude oil products.
Soaring gasoline prices are on everyone's mind these days. At one time you may have been able to fill up your tank for less than $50 but those times are long gone and no one knows if gas will ever reach those prices again. But there are ways that you can save your budget. There are alternative fuels and driving practices that can keep you away from the gas pumps. It is going to take some reading on your part but it is well worth it in the end.
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