# PADD 2 (Midwest) propane stocks Propane and propylene in primary storage, EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report _Data through Aug 28, 2026 · source last checked Sep 2, 2026 · page revised Sep 2, 2026_ > Now 26.2 million barrels, 5.6% above the 5-yr median. PADD 2 propane stocks fell 1.8% to 26.2 million barrels in the week through August 28, standing 5.6% above the 5-year median. ## The numbers | Period | Current | Prior | Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Week over week | 26.2 million barrels | 26.6 million barrels | -1.8% | | vs 4 weeks ago | 26.2 million barrels | 24.6 million barrels | +6.3% | | Year over year | 26.2 million barrels | 25.6 million barrels | +2.3% | | vs 5-yr median | 26.2 million barrels | 24.8 million barrels | +5.6% | ## About PADD 2 (Midwest) propane stocks The Midwest carries a demand pattern the coasts do not share: propane fires grain dryers across the Corn Belt every fall, so stocks here can tighten weeks before winter heating demand even arrives, especially after a wet harvest. Supply reaches the region by pipeline from the Gulf Coast and from gas processing plants closer to home, with a secondary storage and trading hub around Conway, Kansas that functions as a smaller inland counterpart to Mont Belvieu. Stocks build through the same spring-to-summer window as the rest of the country, then draw down first for the harvest and again through the heating season proper. The five-year band is the reference point for whether the Midwest is carrying its usual cushion into an autumn that starts drawing on it earlier than the calendar alone would suggest. For winter propane prices this is the inventory line the market watches hardest. It covers the largest block of consuming demand in the country, and the pipelines that refill it run a long way north from the Gulf Coast. EIA counts propane and propylene in primary storage, in thousand barrels, published in the Weekly Petroleum Status Report each Wednesday for the week ended the prior Friday, with holiday weeks pushed to Thursday. The winter of 2013-14 is the reference case for what a thin Midwest reading can do: a wet corn harvest sent unusual volumes into grain dryers through the fall, severe cold followed in January, spot propane at the Conway hub in Kansas ran far above the Gulf Coast benchmark, and dealers across the region rationed deliveries. ## Common questions ### Is PADD 2 (Midwest) propane inventory high or low right now? PADD 2 (Midwest) propane stocks stood at 26.2 million barrels as of Aug 28, 2026, 6% above the 5-year median of 24.8 million barrels for this point in the year. A level over the band means more cushion than usual for the season ahead. ### What is the 5-year average for PADD 2 (Midwest) propane stocks? 24.8 million barrels for this week of the year, measured as the 5-year median rather than a flat annual average, because propane inventories swing hard by season and a single yearly number would compare a March level against an August one. [Propane inventories and the 5-year average](/guides/propane-inventories-and-the-5-year-average) explains how to read the band. ### How do propane stock levels affect prices? Inventory is the cushion between winter demand and the physical supply that can reach a market in time. When stocks run under their seasonal band going into October, buyers competing for a thinner cushion bid up the [Mont Belvieu spot price](/spot/mont-belvieu), and delivered prices follow with a lag as dealers replace barrels at the higher cost. A comfortable build has the opposite effect: it absorbs a cold snap without a price response. ### When are PADD 2 (Midwest) propane inventories typically lowest? The Midwest draws twice: once for the fall grain-drying season in October and November, then through the winter proper, with the low usually in February or March. That double draw is why a wet harvest and a cold January can compound the way they did in 2013-14. ## About this data - Source: EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report - Series: Propane and propylene ending stocks - Basis: Primary storage, excluding propylene at terminal - Geography: PADD 2 (Midwest) - Unit: million barrels - Calculation period: Weekly ending stocks - Last observation: Aug 28, 2026 - Update frequency: Weekly --- Cite: PADD 2 (Midwest) propane stocks: 26.2 million barrels, 5.6% above the 5-yr median (The Fill Line's same-week 5-year median, not EIA's published five-year average). The Fill Line, data through Aug 28, 2026. https://fill-line.com/stocks/padd2 Canonical URL: https://fill-line.com/stocks/padd2