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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Fact #698: October 24, 2011
Changes in the Federal Highway Administration Vehicle Travel Data

With the April release of Table VM-1 from Highway Statistics 2009 came several changes to the availability of data on vehicle miles of travel (VMT). From 1966 to 2008, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published the VMT, fuel use, and average fuel economy of 2-axle, 4-tire trucks separately from cars on Table VM-1. The 2-axle, 4-tire truck category included pickups, vans, sport utility vehicles, and other 4-tire trucks. For 2009 data and thereafter, car and 2-axle, 4-tire truck data are aggregated together and reported by the length of the vehicle's wheelbase (short and long). In addition, significant methodology changes were made to the single-unit truck and the combination truck data on VM-1, such that the data are not comparable with the previous years' data. Knowing that comparability would be an issue, the FHWA released revised versions of Table VM-1 going back to the year 2007. You can find the revised data in the Highway Statistics on the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration web site.

The 2008 VM-1 Original Table

Annual Vehicle Distance Traveled in Miles and Related Data – 2008 1/
by Highway Category and Vehicle Type
December 2009
Table VM-1
SUBTOTALS
YEAR ITEM PASSENGER CARS MOTOR-
CYCLES		 BUSES OTHER 2-AXLE 4-TIRE VEHICLES 3/ SINGLE-UNIT 2-AXLE 6-TIRE OR MORE TRUCKS 4/ COMBINATION TRUCKS PASSENGER CARS AND OTHER 2-AXLE 4-TIRE VEHICLES SINGE-UNIT 2-AXLE 6-TIRE OR MORE AND COMBINATION TRUCKS ALL MOTOR VEHICLES 2/
Motor-Vehicle Travel: (millions of vehicle-miles)
2008 Interstate Rural 115,532 1,348 1,027 77,842 7,299 40,242 193,373 47,542 243,290
2007 122,183 1,420 986 82,030 7,188 42,632 204,212 49,819 256,438
2008 Other Arterial Rural 191,897 2,418 1,020 139,867 13,646 25,426 331,764 39,071 374,273
2007 204,123 2,305 1,015 145,985 13,877 26,160 350,108 40,037 393,465
2008 Other Rural 195,684 1,929 1,772 144,171 15,478 13,820 339,855 29,298 372,855
2007 203,485 1,820 1,722 148,612 15,659 14,101 352,097 29,760 385,400
2008 All Rural 503,112 5,695 3,819 361,880 36,423 79,488 864,993 115,911 990,418
2007 529,791 5,546 3,723 376,627 36,723 82,893 906,418 119,616 1,035,303
2008 Interstate Urban 262,321 2,738 1,077 169,605 10,127 30,223 431,926 40,350 476,091
2007 267,559 2,631 1,052 170,669 10,143 31,262 438,228 41,405 483,315
2008 Other Urban 850,417 6,051 2,218 577,117 37,400 33,797 1,427,534 71,197 1,507,000
2007 875,118 5,444 2,205 564,975 35,147 30,892 1,440,093 66,039 1,513,781
2008 All Urban 1,112,738 8,789 3,295 746,722 47,527 64,019 1,859,460 111,547 1,983,091
2007 1,142,677 8,075 3,257 735,644 45,290 62,153 1,878,320 107,444 1,997,096
2008 Total Rural and Urban 1,615,850 14,484 7,114 1,108,603 83,951 143,507 2,724,453 227,458 2,973,509
2007 1,672,467 13,621 6,980 1,112,271 82,014 145,046 2,784,738 227,060 3,032,399
2008 Number of motor vehicles registered 5/ 137,079,843 7,752,926 843,308 101,234,849 6,790,882 2,215,856 238,314,692 9,006,738 255,917,664
2007 135,932,930 7,138,476 834,436 101,469,615 6,806,630 2,220,995 237,402,545 9,027,624 254,403,081
2008 Average miles traveled per vehicle 11,788 1,868 8,436 10,951 12,362 64,764 11,432 25,254 11,619
2007 12,304 1,908 8,365 10,962 12,049 65,307 11,730 25,152 11,920
2008 Person-miles of travel 6/ (millions) 2,553,043 18,395 150,827 1,921,960 83,951 143,507 4,475,004 227,458 4,871,683
2007 2,642,498 17,298 147,985 1,928,319 82,014 145,046 4,570,818 227,060 4,963,161
2008 Fuel consumed 7/ (thousand gallons) 71,497,204 256,358 1,109,636 61,198,934 9,888,729 26,814,441 132,696,139 36,703,170 170,765,303
2007 74,377,197 242,241 1,144,861 61,836,216 10,043,778 28,545,442 136,213,413 38,589,220 176,189,735
2008 Average fuel consumption per vehicle (gallons) 7/ 522 33 1,316 605 1,456 12,101 557 4,075 667
2007 547 34 1,372 609 1,476 12,853 574 4,275 693
2008 Average miles traveled per gallon of fuel consumed 7/ 22.6 56.5 6.4 18.1 8.5 5.4 20.5 6.2 17.4
2007 22.5 56.2 6.1 18.0 8.2 5.1 20.4 5.9 17.2

1/ The 50 states and the District of Columbia report travel by highway category, number of motor vehicles registered, and total fuel consumed. The travel and fuel data by vehicle type and stratification of trucks are estimated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Estimation procedures include use of State supplied data, the 2002 Census of Transportation Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS), and other sources.
2/ Totals by highway category are from table VM-2. Some changes between rural and urban roadways can be attributed to 2002 census boundary changes.
3/ Other 2-Axle 4-Tire Vehicles which are not passenger cars. These include vans, pickup trucks, and sport/utility vehicles.
4/ Single-Unit 2-Axle 6-Tire or More Trucks on a single frame with at least two axles and six tires.
5/ Truck registration figures are from tables MV-1 and MV-9 with truck distribution estimated by the FHWA.
6/ Vehicle occupancy is estimated by the FHWA from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS); For heavy trucks, 1 motor vehicle miles traveled = 1 person-miles traveled.
7/ Total fuel consumption figures are from tables MF-21 and MF-27. Distribution by vehicle type is estimated by the FHWA based on miles per gallon for both diesel and gasoline powered vehicles using State-supplied data, the 2002 VIUS, and other sources with nominal inputs for motorcycles and buses.

 

The 2009 VM-1 Revised Methodology Table

Annual Vehicle Distance Traveled in Miles and Related Data – 2009 1/
by Highway Category and Vehicle Type
Published: April 2011
Table VM-1
SUBTOTALS
YEAR ITEM LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES SHORT WB 2/ MOTOR-CYCLES BUSES LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES LONG WB 2/ SINGLE-UNIT TRUCKS 3/ COMBINATION TRUCKS ALL LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES 2/ SINGE-UNIT 2-AXLE 6-TIRE OR MORE AND COMBINATION TRUCKS ALL MOTOR VEHICLES
Motor-Vehicle Travel: (millions of vehicle-miles)
2009 Interstate Rural 139,621 1,480 1,601 42,002 10,991 46,178 181,622 57,169 241,873
2009 Other Arterial Rural 229,367 3,295 2,063 89,194 19,364 29,185 318,561 48,549 372,468
2009 Other Rural 226,498 3,502 2,506 97,887 19,173 16,322 324,384 35,494 365,886
2009 All Rural 595,485 8,277 6,170 229,082 49,528 91,684 824,567 141,212 980,227
2009 Interstate Urban 334,765 2,323 2,170 87,116 15,649 32,940 421,881 48,589 474,963
2009 Other Urban 1,083,185 10,201 6,017 300,705 54,986 43,218 1,383,890 98,204 1,498,311
2009 All Urban 1,417,950 12,523 8,187 387,821 70,635 76,158 1,805,771 146,793 1,973,274
2009 Total Rural and Urban 5/ 2,013,436 20,800 14,358 616,903 120,163 167,842 2,630,338 288,005 2,953,501
2009 Number of motor vehicles registered 2/ 193,979,654 7,929,724 841,993 40,488,025 8,356,097 2,617,118 234,467,679 10,973,214 254,212,610
2009 Average miles traveled per vehicle 10,380 2,623 17,052 15,237 14,380 64,132 11,218 26,246 11,618
2009 Person-miles of travel 4/ (millions) 2,797,438 22,404 304,386 824,151 120,163 167,842 3,621,589 288,005 4,236,384
2009 Fuel consumed (thousand gallons) 85,560,236 474,909 1,868,792 35,763,797 16,342,208 2,8130,088 121,324,034 44,472,296 168,140,031
2009 Average fuel consumption per vehicle (gallons) 441 60 2,219 883 1,956 10,748 517 4,053 661
2009 Average miles traveled per gallon of fuel consumed 23.8 43.2 7.2 17.4 7.4 6.0 21.7 6.5 17.6

1/ The FHWA estimates national trends by using State reported Highway Performance and Monitoring System (HPMS) data, fuel consumption data (MF-21 and MF-27), vehicle registration data (MV-1, MV-9, and MV-10), other data such as R.L. Polk vehicle data, and a host of modeling techniques. Starting with the 2009 VM-1, an enhanced methodology is used to provide timely indicators on both travel and travel behavior changes.
2/ Light Duty Vehicles Short WB – passenger cars, light trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles with a wheelbase (WB) equal to or less than 121 inches. Light Duty Vehicles Long WB – large passenger cars, vans, pickup trucks, and sport/utility vehicles with wheelbases (WB) larger than 121 inches. All Light Duty Vehicles – passenger cars, light trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles regardless of wheelbase.
3/ Single-Unit – single frame trucks that have 2-Axles and at least 6 tires or a gross vehicle weight rating exceeding 10,000 lbs.
4/ Vehicle occupancy is estimated by the FHWA from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS); For single unit truck and heavy trucks, 1 motor vehicle miles traveled = 1 person-miles traveled.
5/ VMT data are based on the latest HPMS data available; it may not match previous published results.

Supporting Information

U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2009.

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