Like Bill Clinton said the first time he ran. "It's the economy stupid".
In my area, we lost Norboard mfg company making plywood, using natural gas to dry the wood. Big customer.
We lost Knauf mfg company making fiberglass insulation. Big customer
We lost a Uniroyal tire mfg. company. Big customer
We lost West Point Stevens textile mfg company (several plants) Big customers.
We obtained Kia Mfg company and some auto suppliers, but assembly is not big gas users, just heating the buildings, water heaters, drying paint.
So with a bad economy oil, gasoline, diesel, natural gas, and coal consumption is WAY down. Natural gas in my area is half what it once was.
If the economy picks back up and we get some factories back, then the price and consumption of fuel will rise.
True unemployment is about 12% with under employment at true 18%. Inflation is running about 11% under true inflation figures using groceries and fuel costs. People aren't traveling much. Not as many people going to the beaches here in the south. Many businesses along the gulf coast are going out of business.
You can twist, distort, all you want. People are hurting. My brother worked at Uniroyal making about $26 an hour with medical benefits, 401k etc. He got laid off when the plant closed. Now he is only making $15. He is struggling. He is surviving because he didn't have much debt. He sold his bass boat also.
My kids are only making $10-12 an hour. When I was their age, I was making twice minimum wage at 21.
Also not only are people not traveling much, my company has switched to natural gas for vehicle fuel as well as a lot of fleets begining to change over, and newer cars are getting higher mileage.