Demand for Refined Petroleum Products by Sector in the United States

Demand for Refined Petroleum Products by Sector in the United States 1960 2021

Source: BTS, National Transportation Statistics.

Over the decades, transportation accounted for a growing share of oil consumption in the United States, while the amount of oil consumed by the industrial sector remained the same. By 2018, transportation accounted for 70.4% of petroleum consumption, while this share was 64.5% in 1990. Residential, commercial, and electric utilities’ use of petroleum declined. The convenience of petroleum for transportation remains fundamental, but other sectors are able to switch more effectively to other sources of energy, mainly electricity. Domestic petroleum consumption appears to have peaked and has been on the decline since 2005.