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

Vehicle Technologies Office

Fact #584: August 17, 2009
The Price of Gasoline and Vehicle Travel: How Do They Relate?

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).

Vehicle Travel and Gasoline Price (Three-month Moving Average of the Percent Change from Previous Year's Monthly Total and Average)
Graph showing vehicle travel in relation to the price of gasoline using a three-month moving average of the percentage change of monthly data from one year to the next. For more detailed information, see the table below.

Supporting Information

Percent Change from Previous Year's Monthly Total and Average
  3-month moving average
Month-Year Gas Price Vehicle 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%
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% 0.6%
Jan-07 1.3% 0.0%
Feb-07 1.7% 0.1%
Mar-07 3.5% 0.3%
Apr-07 6.0% 1.0%
May-07 4.9% 1.1%
Jun-07 3.2% 1.4%
Jul-07 -1.1% 1.0%
Aug-07 -0.1% 1.2%
Sep-07 8.0% 0.8%
Oct-07 22.5% -0.2%
Nov-07 29.8% -0.6%
Dec-07 33.4% -1.1%
Jan-08 32.0% -2.2%
Feb-08 30.8% -2.1%
Mar-08 26.2% -2.6%
Apr-08 22.1% -3.7%
May-08 24.6% -3.6%
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% -3.4%
Dec-08 -38.4% -2.7%
Jan-09 -40.6% -1.6%
Feb-09 -39.3% -1.1%
Mar-09 -39.0% -0.4%
Apr-09 -40.1% -0.2%

Source: VMT: U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Highway Policy Information, Traffic Volume Trends, Table 1.
Gasoline Price: Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, Table 9.2.

 

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