Fact #284: September 8, 2003
U.S. Vehicle Travel and Gasoline Prices
2001–2003
The graph below shows the percentage change of monthly data from one year to the next (i.e., January 2001 data were compared with January 2000 data). Gasoline prices were down in late 2001 and early 2002 from what they were one year before, and vehicle miles of travel (VMT) were generally up during that period. Many other factors also affect VMT. February 2003 data show a 2.7% decline in VMT from February 2002 that was probably caused by the large amount of ice and snow in the Eastern United States in 2003.
Percent Change from Previous Year's Monthly Total/Average
Supporting Information
| Month | Unleaded Regular Gasoline Price |
Vehicle Miles of Travel | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan-01 | 11.6% | 2.8% | ||
| Feb-01 | 7.7% | 0.3% | ||
| Mar-01 | -6.5% | -0.5% | ||
| Apr-01 | 3.7% | 1.6% | ||
| May-01 | 13.4% | 0.7% | ||
| Jun-01 | 1.4% | -0.2% | ||
| Jul-01 | -7.5% | 1.5% | ||
| Aug-01 | -5.8% | 1.6% | ||
| Sep-01 | -3.3% | -1.2% | ||
| Oct-01 | -14.5% | 1.5% | ||
| Nov-01 | -23.1% | 3.0% | ||
| Dec-01 | -31.7% | 4.4% | ||
| Jan-02 | -29.2% | 2.2% | ||
| Feb-02 | -31.3% | 3.3% | ||
| Mar-02 | -16.6% | 1.1% | ||
| Apr-02 | -11.2% | 1.5% | ||
| May-02 | -21.7% | 2.3% | ||
| Jun-02 | -16.8% | 1.6% | ||
| Jul-02 | -5.0% | 2.2% | ||
| Aug-02 | -0.3% | 1.8% | ||
| Sep-02 | -7.7% | 2.7% | ||
| Oct-02 | 6.0% | 1.4% | ||
| Nov-02 | 12.8% | -0.5% | ||
| Dec-02 | 18.9% | 1.4% | ||
| Jan-03 | 22.7% | 0.9% | ||
| Feb-03 | 31.1% | -2.7% | ||
| Mar-03 | 29.0% | -0.3% | ||
| Apr-03 | 15.2% | 0.6% | ||
| May-03 | 7.8% | -0.2% | ||
|
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Highway Policy Information, "Traffic Volume Trends," Table 1 and Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, Table 9.2 | ||||
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