Midwest gasoline inventory ·EIA week ending September 4, 2026
Midwest gasoline storage holds 43.2 M bbl as of September 4, 2026, down 0.3% week over week.
The Desk's read
Midwest gasoline sits thinner than at almost any point in its 37-year record; the 43.2 million barrels of motor gasoline held across PADD 2 as of September 4 rank at the bottom of that span. This is not a rush for the exits: the trailing four-report change lands mid-range for the record, and the pile barely moved, down 0.3% over thirty days. A low tank draining slowly stays low without draining fast. We watch next Wednesday's EIA weekly report for whether the level holds off its record floor.
On the September 4, 2026 figures.
Midwest (PADD 2) gasoline inventory
September 17, 2021 to September 4, 2026
Shaded band: the same calendar week's range across the five prior years; dashed line: their average. The record low and high are on the range strip above, not in the band.
Weekly PADD 2 total motor gasoline stocks, in millions of barrels. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
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About this series
Total motor gasoline, including blending components, held in tanks and terminals across PADD 2, the Midwest district. Reported weekly by the U.S. EIA as one of five regional cuts of the national gasoline series. The Midwest largely refines its own gasoline and burns it close to home. Chicago-area spot prices swing on this district's balance, and the summer driving season pulls stocks down while spring and fall refinery turnarounds squeeze resupply.
Since 2015, today's reading ranks in the 1st percentile. Midwest gasoline stocks are lean by modern standards. It is 2.1M bbl below its same-week five-year average. Across the full EIA record back to 1990 it ranks in the 0th percentile; storage capacity, pipelines, and production have shifted enough since then that the modern cohort is the better yardstick for today's operating conditions. Only 1 of the other 36 years had a lower reading for this week of the year.
Weekly PADD 2 total motor gasoline stocks, in millions of barrels. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Updated weekly. View this series at eia.gov ↗
Midwest gasoline inventory: common questions
- What is PADD 2?
- PADD 2 is the Midwest district of the Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts, the five regions the EIA uses to report US petroleum statistics. It covers Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The district lines were drawn for World War II fuel allocation and remain the standard regional cut of US oil data.
- What does this page track?
- The total volume of motor gasoline held in tanks and terminals across PADD 2 (Midwest), including blending components not yet mixed into finished fuel. It is the EIA's regional cut of the same weekly series the national gasoline page tracks, and the five districts sum to the US total.
More questions
- Why do Midwest gasoline inventories matter?
- The Midwest largely refines its own gasoline and burns it close to home. Chicago-area spot prices swing on this district's balance, and the summer driving season pulls stocks down while spring and fall refinery turnarounds squeeze resupply.
- How often is this figure updated?
- The EIA publishes the figure every week, typically Wednesday around 10:30 a.m. Eastern for the prior Friday's week. This page reads that same EIA series and shows the latest reading with its as-of date.