It may not be apparent to American motorists, but the U.S. oil refinery industry is ailing. Reduced VMT, mandated ethanol use, and escalating vehicle fuel efficiency standards caused a decrease of gasoline consumed. Diesel may revive the industry.
President Obama's new CAFE target of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 may not be as ominous as many believe for the refinery industry.
While many auto industry followers believe the high standards will boost sales of hybrids, electric cars, plug-in hybrid vehicles, as well as highly efficient conventional vehicles, many see them as boosting sales of vehicles that run on diesel, as opposed to gasoline, because "diesel engines carry vehicles 25 percent farther per tank than gasoline engines do, according to Hart Energy", an industry consulting and publishing firm.
"Diesel powers about 3 percent of U.S. passenger vehicles, said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, a nonprofit industry organization. Industry consultants expect the CAFE regulations will help push their market share to 8 percent by 2025."
"Still, demand continued to slide for gasoline, U.S. refiners' most popular product. Drivers used less than 378 million gallons of gasoline per day in 2010, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That was down more than 3 percent from 2007, the year industry watchers mark as the peak for gasoline consumption."
"Many believe we'll never reach those levels again," said one oil analyst.
Thanks to Susan Frank
FULL STORY: Diesel could fuel refinery comeback

Good Planning Under Bad Leadership
Planners must sometimes work under bad leadership. Here are suggestions for responsive planning in challenging political environments.

Legendary Parking Guru Donald Shoup Dies at 86
Urbanists are mourning the loss of a dynamic voice for parking reform and walkable cities.

Amtrak Cascades Line Breaks Ridership Record
The route linking Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC served nearly one million riders in 2024.

Over 71K Office-to-Apartment Units in the Pipeline for 2025
Adaptive reuse projects are continuing to bring thousands of new housing units onto the market as demand for office space remains low.

How Houston Can Be a Model for Housing Reform
The city builds more new housing than almost any other and has dramatically reduced homelessness, yet low-income families struggle to find affordable housing.

Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Brookings
City of White Salmon
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service