U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for May 20: Rules for Fuels

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

RULES FOR FUELS

Profile America — Friday, May 20th. Gas prices are a frequent cause for consumer complaint — but at least purchases aren't restricted, as they were beginning this month in 1942. That's when 17 states began rationing gasoline to help the fight World War II. By December, rationing was nationwide and remained in effect until the end of the war, along with a national speed limit of 35 miles an hour, which was promoted as "Victory Speed." Now, there are more than 112,000 gas stations across the country. Most — about 98,000 — have incorporated convenience stores. Each year, America's gas stations sell over $550 billion worth of fuel and other items. Today's cars average 23.2 miles to the gallon, while SUVs, vans, and pickup trucks get 17.1 miles per gallon. Profile America is beginning  its 20th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:
Rationing and "Victory Speed": http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/seventeen-states-put-gasoline-rationing-into-effect 
Gas stations/NAICS 447: http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=BP_2013_00A1&prodType=table 
Gas stations with convenience stores/NAICS 447110: http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=BP_2013_00A1&prodType=table 
Gas station revenues/NAICS 447: http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ECN_2012_US_00A1&prodType=table 
Vehicles and mpg/accessed 3/24/2016: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2014/vm1.cfm 

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau