ENERGY COSTS & OPERATING MARGINS · SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
Crude Inventories Rise as Refinery Utilization Falls
EIA reported commercial crude stocks up 3.0 million barrels for the week ended September 18, while refinery inputs fell 519,000 barrels per day and utilization declined to 94.0%.
What EIA released on September 23
Source publication date: September 23, 2026; data cover the week ended September 18. U.S. refineries processed 16.8 million barrels per day, 519,000 barrels per day less than the prior week, and operated at 94.0% of capacity. Commercial crude-oil inventories excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve increased 3.0 million barrels to 426.4 million barrels, about 2% above the five-year average for this time of year.
- 01Crude stocks rose 3.0M barrels
- 02Refinery inputs fell 519,000 b/d
- 03Distillate stocks were 12% below average
Product inventories moved in different directions
Gasoline inventories decreased 1.7 million barrels and stood about 6% below the five-year average. Distillate inventories declined 0.4 million barrels and were about 12% below the five-year average. Total commercial petroleum inventories increased only 0.1 million barrels. These national weekly estimates can be revised and do not directly show a specific company's delivered fuel price, contract terms, regional basis, taxes, hedging, or local supply conditions.
Demand measures show why one headline is not enough
Over the preceding four weeks, total products supplied averaged 20.6 million barrels per day, 0.5% above the comparable year-earlier period. Gasoline products supplied were down 0.8% year over year, distillate was up 0.3%, and jet fuel was up 6.2%. Inventory, refinery, import, and products-supplied measures should be read together and still do not constitute a price forecast.
Practical borrower takeaway
Reconcile fuel gallons, delivered cost, mileage or production output, surcharge revenue, customer contracts, inventory, and gross margin by week. Model a realistic range of fuel prices and timing lags between cost changes and customer recovery. Show the lender how pricing, routes, purchasing, working capital, and contingency liquidity respond if costs move adversely. Use the EIA report as operating context, not as proof of future prices or a substitute for company records.
Fuel-sensitive borrowers should update consumption, surcharge recovery, route or production economics, and liquidity using company invoices and a range of price scenarios rather than a single weekly inventory reading.
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