fuel consumption

UPS engineers have lowered fuel consumption of delivery vans by about 40 percent with a prototype vehicle made from rugged, lightweight ABS plastic.

Fuel consumption has fallen by a fifth since the government began slashing energy and food subsidies earlier this month, a top government official said Wednesday, claiming an early sign of success in the controversial program.

New medium- and heavy-duty trucks will have to cut fuel consumption and emissions by 10 to 20 percent under the standards proposed by administration.

Oil prices slipped to near $74 a barrel Monday in Asia as traders weighed whether growing Chinese demand can offset weak U.S. fuel consumption amid high unemployment.

Exxon Mobil's earnings were cut by more than half to $19.3 billion in 2009, the lowest total in seven years, as company refineries struggled with a plunge in fuel consumption around the world.

When Congress mandated in 2007 that refiners blend a rising volume of ethanol into gasoline, fuel consumption had been growing for years.

Then came the recession.