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

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U.S. Light-Duty Fuel Consumption and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)

1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
LDV Fuel Consumption per Person 391.08352491790697 408.8527508618286 434.37813139000417 449.08328836556376 425.49920891336035 432.15242975692735 455.18057182686783 461.177983707269 471.5401307941692 449.6913368189691 413.60720359099713 405.38973027132914 397.19563482702205 403.9583049593798 408.96014365311544 416.3642570263137 426.58141563921356 429.63632305977734 434.3529353221291 435.0988247334255 422.1168662893128 406.03058710260706 415.3999662802325 423.5826334975319 426.37776700751846 427.6464144050922 433.46669894451065 438.2286394757615 443.5793675920805 452.81536312721823 447.29247492159544 446.4461776685406 454.7624255033585 469.83060632119265 474.4020045280372 461.45239548098675 455.1852585183498 420.9900172913245 397.5491863831676 396.89827659906746 396.98318364037937
LDV Miles per Person 5086.339635687062 5334.698008328269 5632.874765167654 5794.983830495978 5590.044621485746 5742.744959757715 6008.443665536445 6203.171843551626 6438.362555675193 6283.703716141788 6217.392379131561 6277.037971781701 6378.8976555904055 6550.5117735294625 6758.544512607227 6921.731194161359 7093.903838475593 7356.331585735341 7699.4252519414085 7892.688005439744 7982.443463681168 7969.770339339516 8142.2385372282515 8198.336319063106 8289.570334490281 8403.98642483921 8523.989321169116 8668.26574332353 8802.243522177216 8890.139429675228 8979.683973343956 9054.17395715351 9152.27302989354 9181.906415419626 9340.439514119671 9331.856619847138 9327.319315752062 8994.069013833327 8709.734644669228 8644.993911420088 8619.012228892227
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Table 4-11, 4-12, 1-32 (for VMT).
Notes: Data for 2007-2009 were calculated using new vehicle categories not consistent with previous years.
This chart shows annual per capita average vehicle miles traveled and per capita fuel use from 1970 through 2010 in light-duty vehicles (LDVs). During the past four decades, the number of vehicle miles traveled by the average American has increased relatively steadily, with notable exceptions after the oil price shocks and supply disruptions of 1974, 1979, and 2008. The overall increase in average vehicle miles traveled is attributable to a number of factors, including increased vehicle ownership and increased suburbanization and commute distances. Per capita fuel use has fluctuated with oil prices, average vehicle fuel efficiency, and economic conditions, but today it remains remarkably close to what it was 40 years ago, despite gains in fuel efficiency.