maximax

Will American Changes in Energy Consumption Stick?

"key question was how high did the price of oil have to rise to bring about a significant drop in U.S. consumption" - I thought the price finding exercise implied in the recent oil price surge had more to do with finding out when China and much of SE/S-Asia would kill their oil products price subsidies, since marginal demand is over there, not in the US/OECD. And personally (unlike our clients) I wish I could be as confident as JH regarding the stickiness of US consumption moderation. Newly bought frugal cars will probably stick, but adjustments like only sending out fully loaded yogurt trucks and making washing powder more concentrated and then filling them into smaller bottles can be reversed fairly quickly. Also often the proximity of suppliers can also be adjusted rather quickly, so to speak, this is a characteristic of globalisation.