“We cannot ignore the possibility that what we are experiencing is the Jevons paradox at work as more fuel-efficient new cars are encouraging drivers to use their vehicles more. The Jevons paradox means that as technology progresses, the increase in efficiency with which a resource is used tends to increase the rate of consumption of that resource.”
My post yesterday at MasterResource documented the boom in auto sales and the reasons why, both market and political (artificially low interest rates). Growing population, more cars. But what is happening with average fuel efficiency and with average miles driven per vehicle?
In its latest monthly Traffic Volume Trend report, the Federal Highway Administration documented an increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT). The amount of car usage in June 2014 (the last available month) shows VMT at its highest level since 2007. …
Continue Reading“While many analysts and investors were very happy with the August sales figures, some commented that they were growing concerned that the automakers were beginning to repeat the mistakes of the pre-financial crisis years that contributed to the companies’ financial collapse. Those mistakes included utilizing aggressive financial incentives to spur sales and relying on loans to lower credit-worthy borrowers in order to enable buyers to stretch their monthly payments to afford new car purchases.”
August 2014 sales by U.S. automakers increased 6% from the same month last year, equating to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 17.5 million, according to an analysis by Automotive News. For the eight months through August, auto/light vehicle sales are 5% higher than for the same period in 2013.
August’s red-hot pace is a reversal of 2009’s crisis low of 10.4 million, after which the rebound has been a million units annually.…
Continue Reading“A groundbreaking gathering of the most acclaimed thinkers, scholars, and policymakers on our historic energy revolution, the global prosperity it will produce, and the federal policy that threatens it.”
Date: September 25/26, 2014
Place: Hyatt Regency Houston
Contact: REGISTER NOW
Kudos to the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) for hosting a state-of-the-art climate and energy conference in the nation’s energy capital. The global warming establishment, including many government-grant-dependent local university professors, may stay away. But open-minded Houstonians and visitors will get a multi-disciplinary dose of sound physical science, political economy, and resource economics at this two-day event.
TPPF describes the conference as follows:
… Continue ReadingAt the Crossroads is a unique gathering of the world’s foremost experts, brought together to analyze the historical crossroads at which our county sits. The burgeoning opportunities flowing from the energy revolution are now directly threatened by federal regulatory mandates to displace coal, oil, natural gas.