U.S. Propane Consumption Reached an 18-Year Record in January Amid Cold Snap

U.S. propane consumption reached 1.48 million barrels per day (b/d) in January 2025, the most January consumption on record since January 2005 and the most for any month since February 2007, as severe cold drove up heating demand across much of the country.

U.S. propane consumption, which we measure as product supplied, is closely correlated with temperatures during the winter because propane is primarily used for space heating in the United States. January is typically the coldest month of the year. January 2025 was the coldest month recorded in the United States since January 2014, measured by heating degree days (HDDs).

January 2025 had 946 HDDs, just 26 fewer than in January 2014. Strong heating demand this winter due to cold weather caused propane prices to increase slightly, contributing to higher U.S. residential propane expenditures that month. Meanwhile, U.S. propane inventories decreased significantly in January, which can also put upward pressure on prices.

Propane inventories reflect supply and demand balances. The U.S. propane storage injection season typically runs from April through October, followed by a withdrawal season during the winter.

Propane inventories remained above the previous five-year (2020–24) average for most of this past heating season, and propane was well stocked heading into winter at 98 million barrels. During the cold winter weather in January, propane inventories drew down by about 22 million barrels, the most since January 2017.

Propane inventories in the Midwest (PADD 2), the U.S. region with the greatest propane demand for space heating, are the lowest in more than a decade after starting the winter heating season at the top of the 10-year range. The Midwest accounts for about one-third of the estimated 6.6 million U.S. households that used propane as a primary space heating fuel in 2024. We estimate that 83% of propane consumption is for space heating in the Midwest, while the remaining 17% is used for non-heating demand. In January 2014 (which was even colder than this past January), cold weather-related demand squeezed the Midwest (PADD 2) propane market following record-breaking consumption in November 2013 for propane used in grain drying. The tight market also exerted upward pressure on residential and wholesale propane prices that winter.

Record U.S. propane production at natural gas processing plants has allowed for higher consumption as well as record-high exports, which have grown annually in the past 17 consecutive years because of increasing global demand for propane as a petrochemical feedstock.