Fact #566: April 13, 2009
Vehicle Travel and the Price of Gasoline
The price of gasoline is one factor that can have an effect on the number of highway vehicle miles traveled (VMT). The graph below shows a three-month moving average of the percentage change of monthly data from one year to the next (i.e., February 2001 data were compared with February 2000 data). In 2008, when gasoline prices were 20-30% higher, VMT declined nearly 5% from the previous year. When gasoline prices fell dramatically in late 2008, VMT increased slightly.
Vehicle Travel and Gasoline Price (Three-month Moving Average of the Percent Change from Previous Year's Monthly Total/Average)
Supporting Information
| Month | Gasoline price | Vehicle Miles of Travel |
|---|---|---|
| Feb-01 | 5.1% | 0.9% |
| Mar-01 | 2.1% | 0.4% |
| Apr-01 | 4.4% | 0.6% |
| May-01 | 6.9% | 0.7% |
| Jun-01 | 3.3% | 0.7% |
| Jul-01 | -3.7% | 1.0% |
| Aug-01 | -5.2% | 0.6% |
| Sep-01 | -7.1% | 0.6% |
| Oct-01 | -11.5% | 1.1% |
| Nov-01 | -18.5% | 3.0% |
| Dec-01 | -21.8% | 3.5% |
| Jan-02 | -23.5% | 4.0% |
| Feb-02 | -20.2% | 3.2% |
| Mar-02 | -16.0% | 2.9% |
| Apr-02 | -14.0% | 2.5% |
| May-02 | -14.1% | 2.6% |
| Jun-02 | -12.3% | 2.8% |
| Jul-02 | -6.5% | 2.7% |
| Aug-02 | -4.0% | 3.1% |
| Sep-02 | -0.3% | 2.9% |
| Oct-02 | 4.6% | 2.2% |
| Nov-02 | 14.8% | 1.8% |
| Dec-02 | 22.4% | 1.4% |
| Jan-03 | 32.6% | 0.3% |
| Feb-03 | 38.5% | -0.4% |
| Mar-03 | 34.7% | -0.5% |
| Apr-03 | 22.4% | 0.6% |
| May-03 | 11.4% | 1.0% |
| Jun-03 | 8.1% | 1.4% |
| Jul-03 | 10.1% | 1.4% |
| Aug-03 | 14.6% | 1.4% |
| Sep-03 | 15.5% | 1.8% |
| Oct-03 | 12.7% | 2.2% |
| Nov-03 | 7.9% | 2.7% |
| Dec-03 | 7.1% | 2.2% |
| Jan-04 | 5.7% | 3.3% |
| Feb-04 | 3.7% | 4.4% |
| Mar-04 | 4.5% | 5.6% |
| Apr-04 | 13.9% | 4.4% |
| May-04 | 25.2% | 3.0% |
| Jun-04 | 30.8% | 1.8% |
| Jul-04 | 26.2% | 1.7% |
| Aug-04 | 17.7% | 1.9% |
| Sep-04 | 17.5% | 1.2% |
| Oct-04 | 22.3% | 1.4% |
| Nov-04 | 27.8% | 0.9% |
| Dec-04 | 23.8% | 1.2% |
| Jan-05 | 18.4% | 1.8% |
| Feb-05 | 15.4% | 1.6% |
| Mar-05 | 18.7% | 1.1% |
| Apr-05 | 17.3% | 0.7% |
| May-05 | 13.8% | 1.3% |
| Jun-05 | 12.1% | 1.6% |
| Jul-05 | 19.4% | 1.3% |
| Aug-05 | 35.4% | 0.3% |
| Sep-05 | 41.4% | -0.1% |
| Oct-05 | 36.2% | 0.3% |
| Nov-05 | 23.3% | 0.6% |
| Dec-05 | 19.9% | 2.1% |
| Jan-06 | 21.2% | 1.5% |
| Feb-06 | 21.2% | 1.8% |
| Mar-06 | 19.2% | 0.4% |
| Apr-06 | 23.3% | 0.6% |
| May-06 | 29.3% | 0.1% |
| Jun-06 | 32.2% | -0.4% |
| Jul-06 | 27.6% | -0.5% |
| Aug-06 | 12.4% | 0.2% |
| Sep-06 | -3.6% | 1.6% |
| Oct-06 | -11.4% | 1.8% |
| Nov-06 | -5.3% | 1.3% |
| Dec-06 | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Jan-07 | 1.3% | -0.6% |
| Feb-07 | 1.7% | -0.7% |
| Mar-07 | 3.5% | -0.5% |
| Apr-07 | 6.0% | 0.2% |
| May-07 | 4.9% | 0.1% |
| Jun-07 | 3.2% | 0.6% |
| Jul-07 | -1.1% | 0.2% |
| Aug-07 | -0.1% | 0.4% |
| Sep-07 | 8.0% | 0.2% |
| Oct-07 | 22.5% | -1.1% |
| Nov-07 | 29.8% | -1.4% |
| Dec-07 | 33.4% | -1.7% |
| Jan-08 | 32.0% | -2.7% |
| Feb-08 | 30.8% | -2.1% |
| Mar-08 | 26.2% | -2.6% |
| Apr-08 | 22.1% | -3.8% |
| May-08 | 24.6% | -3.5% |
| Jun-08 | 30.5% | -4.5% |
| Jul-08 | 35.8% | -4.7% |
| Aug-08 | 35.6% | -4.4% |
| Sep-08 | 27.4% | -4.8% |
| Oct-08 | 5.4% | -3.8% |
| Nov-08 | -20.1% | -3.6% |
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U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Highway Policy Information, Traffic Volume Trends, Table 1. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, Table 9.2. | ||