Natural Gas Fill Rate -- Approaching The 5-Year Max -- July 16. 2020

Before we get started, a reminder -- Vern Whitten's "virtual coffee table book" at this link.

Now, back to energy.

Link here:

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Study Suggests 10% Permanent Drop In US Miles Driven

Bloomberg via Rigzone.

Working from home and online shopping have become the new normal and that will reduce driving in the U.S. by up to 270 billion miles a year.

The research conducted by consultant KPMG International finds the cocoon culture Covid-19 has created is not going away -- even if a vaccine is made widely available -- and that will have potentially dire consequences for the auto industry.

For starters, the decline in commuting will remove 14 million cars from U.S. roads, KPMG forecasts.

Cocoon culture.

More:

The change in habits could result in roughly 1 million fewer sales of new cars and trucks annually. 

Americans have purchased more than 17 million cars, sport-utility vehicles and light trucks annually for the last five years. The National Automobile Dealers Association expects U.S. auto sales to plunge as low as 13 million this year due to the pandemic’s chill on the economy. 

As the industry works its way out of the hole created by the shutdown, the potential loss of 1 million sales a year will loom large.

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Grilling

From a reader:

My wife and I love artichokes, but we've "always" boiled them on the stove top. I've grilled them once or twice, cut in half, never thought about grilling them whole. 

I particularly enjoyed the words that accompanied the photo. After seeing the photos, I mentioned to the reader how impressed I am with such a simple "thing" as a Weber grill -- the versatility of a Weber.

The reader's reply:

The Weber does it all. Can you believe a “big green egg” does the exact same thing and is 10x the cost? The "egg" is a must have with everyone I know. That Weber kettle is so simple and so easy. It’s just amazing. 

I checked out the "big green egg" some months ago. I was blown away by the cost, but even more so, how incredibly heavy these monsters were. Very, very heavy lids.