Why gas costs more in California than Texas
Marketplace
Marketplace
4.6 • 8.5K Ratings
🗓️ 26 May 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As President Trump’s war in the Middle East continues, Americans continue to face higher fuel prices. But some have it worse than others. In this episode, we compare the situation at the pump in Texas, heart of the U.S. oil industry, and California, where air quality regulations make gas pricier. Plus: Wholesale clubs attract higher-income shoppers, fast fashion giant Shien acquires eco-conscious Everlane, and a new Chicago Fed report reveals strong manufacturers and shaky consumers.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Well, here's where we are. |
| 0:04.5 | A check on the nuts and bolts of this economy. |
| 0:07.5 | Oil and gas because the news. |
| 0:11.0 | And bicycles in Los Angeles. |
| 0:14.4 | From American public media. |
| 0:16.9 | This is Marketplace. |
| 0:27.6 | Thank you. This is Marketplace. In Los Angeles, I'm Kyle Rizzdahl. |
| 0:30.1 | It is Tuesday, today the 26th of May. |
| 0:33.3 | Good as it always is. |
| 0:34.5 | To have you along, everybody. |
| 0:36.2 | The big economic data owe the week comes Thursday, the personal consumption expenditures |
| 0:40.8 | price index, courtesy of the Commerce Department. |
| 0:43.9 | The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, as you know, unless and until |
| 0:48.3 | Chair Warsh decides otherwise. |
| 0:50.9 | The 12 regional Federal Reserve banks put out reports, too, you know, which today comes from the Chicago Fed with its National Activity Index. |
| 1:00.9 | National activity, it seems, is mixed. Manufacturing looks not bad. Personal consumption, though, not great. |
| 1:09.5 | Marketplace's Justin Ho gets us going with what the heck that Chicago Fed's National |
| 1:13.2 | Activity Index is and how the heck to read it. |
| 1:17.2 | The Chicago Fed's National Activity Index sums up a bunch of indicators covering different |
| 1:22.0 | slices of the economy, including manufacturing activity, which picked up in April. |
| 1:26.3 | That's not surprising to us. |
| 1:28.4 | Nancy Vandenhouten is lead economist at Oxford Economics. |
... |
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