Australia was once said to have been “built on the sheep’s back” — a recognition that wool played a central role in its economic growth. These days you might say it floats on a lake of diesel.

No major economy uses the fuel more lavishly. Consumption runs to about 7.7 barrels per person, per year, sufficient to fill the tank on a Ford Motor Co. F-150 pickup nine times over. That’s about 80% above US levels, and eight times more than China. With the global petroleum supply chain starting to seize up due to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, prices have risen more than 50% in a matter of weeks. Shortages are looming.

© Bloomberg