Fact #347: November 22, 2004
The Relationship of VMT and GDP
The nation's highway vehicle miles of travel (VMT) and the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) reflect strikingly similar patterns, indicating the strong relationship between the nation's economy and its travel. The graph shows how closely the two data series track each other over the past four decades.
Supporting Information
| GDP in Constant 2000 Dollars, Indexed to 1996 | VMT, Indexed to 1996 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 30.0 | 28.9 |
| 1961 | 30.7 | 29.7 |
| 1962 | 32.6 | 30.8 |
| 1963 | 34.0 | 32.4 |
| 1964 | 36.0 | 34.0 |
| 1965 | 38.3 | 35.7 |
| 1966 | 40.8 | 37.2 |
| 1967 | 41.8 | 38.8 |
| 1968 | 43.9 | 40.9 |
| 1969 | 45.2 | 42.7 |
| 1970 | 45.3 | 44.6 |
| 1971 | 46.8 | 47.4 |
| 1972 | 49.3 | 50.7 |
| 1973 | 52.1 | 52.8 |
| 1974 | 51.9 | 51.5 |
| 1975 | 51.8 | 53.4 |
| 1976 | 54.5 | 56.4 |
| 1977 | 57.0 | 59.0 |
| 1978 | 60.2 | 62.1 |
| 1979 | 62.1 | 61.5 |
| 1980 | 62.0 | 61.4 |
| 1981 | 63.5 | 62.6 |
| 1982 | 62.3 | 64.2 |
| 1983 | 65.1 | 66.5 |
| 1984 | 69.8 | 69.2 |
| 1985 | 72.7 | 71.4 |
| 1986 | 75.2 | 73.8 |
| 1987 | 77.7 | 77.3 |
| 1988 | 81.0 | 81.5 |
| 1989 | 83.8 | 84.3 |
| 1990 | 85.4 | 86.3 |
| 1991 | 85.3 | 87.4 |
| 1992 | 88.1 | 90.4 |
| 1993 | 90.4 | 92.4 |
| 1994 | 94.1 | 94.8 |
| 1995 | 96.4 | 97.5 |
| 1996 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 1997 | 104.5 | 103.0 |
| 1998 | 108.9 | 105.9 |
| 1999 | 113.7 | 108.3 |
| 2000 | 117.9 | 110.5 |
| 2001 | 118.8 | 112.5 |
| 2002 | 121.0 | 114.9 |
|
Source: VMT: U.S. Department of Transportation, Highway Statistics 2002, Table VM-1, and previous editions. | ||
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