How do we calculate product supplied?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) uses product supplied as a proxy for petroleum consumption because it measures volumes of petroleum products that leave the primary supply chain prior to being sold and consumed by distributors, retailers, and end users. We survey 1,000 of the more than 100,000 U.S. retail gasoline stations to estimate retail gasoline prices. We gather information about motor gasoline and other petroleum products by surveying a more limited number of respondents in the primary supply chain—refiners, blenders, importers, pipelines, and bulk terminal storage operators—before the products are moved to distributors and retailers. By surveying the entire population of these primary suppliers, we determine the volume of refined petroleum inputs and production, imports, inventories, and shipments available for domestic consumption. Using the example of finished motor gasoline, we define product supplied as:
- Net production (from refineries, blenders, and biofuels plants) + imports + supply adjustment - primary storage inventory change - exports = product supplied
In 2023, we calculated that finished motor gasoline product supplied in the United States came from 9.65 million barrels per day (b/d) of finished net production by refiners, blenders, and biofuels plants plus 118,00 b/d of imports. Disposition of finished motor gasoline included a 3,000-b/d increase in primary storage inventory changes and 816,000 b/d of finished motor gasoline exports. Disposition accounts for how crude oil and petroleum products are transferred, distributed, or removed from the supply stream including stock changes, refinery inputs, exports, and products supplied for domestic consumption.
We also include a supply adjustment, a balancing item that reconciles product supplied of finished gasoline with the supply and disposition of its two major components, motor gasoline blending components (MGBCs, derived from petroleum) and fuel ethanol (a biomass-based fuel typically derived from corn in the United States). MGBCs and fuel ethanol are not used in engines alone, but they are blended into gasoline to meet specifications for octane, sulfur levels, and other standards. Because we collect supply and disposition of these products in several surveys, survey and statistical errors lead to natural differences between the two. The adjustment serves as a balancing item, which reduced finished motor gasoline supply by 7,000 b/d in 2023.
In sum, 8.95 million b/d of finished motor gasoline was consumed in the United States during 2023 because this amount left the primary supply chain and remained in the United States.
Last reviewed: October 16, 2024.
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