Statistics ∨

Here is a list of MOVE's favorite transportation statistics. If you have an interesting statistic to share, please send it to us (Contact Us), and include a link for verifiction.

All statistics are from the Transportation Data Energy Book: Edition 26 unless otherwise noted.

General Transportation Stats

In 2006, transportation accounted for 68.0% of U.S. petroleum consumption.

The U.S consumes 24.2% of worlds total petroleum but only produces 8.4%.

The average annual percentage increase in prices for gasoline in the past decade is 10.8%, with a 17.8% increase in the past year.

Transportation accounts for 32.9% of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption.

Automotive

Cars, and light trucks accounted for 58.3% of the energy used for transportation. (2005)

The average time to commute in 2000 was 24.3 minutes. 7.3% of workers commute 60 minutes or more to work

Trucking

Medium and heavy trucks accounted for 15.5% of the energy used for transportation. (2005)

In 2005, 2,087,000 combination trucks (all designed to be used in combination with one or more trailers) were registered.

Registration of combination trucks is increasing at 2.4% per year. (Using 1970-2005 data)

In 2005, the fuel economy of a combination truck averages 5.9 miles per gallon.

From 1970 to 2005, tractor-trailer fuel economy increased by only 0.6 percent per year. From 1995-2005, tractor-trailer fuel economy has increased only 0.2% per year.

6% of heavy trucks (class 7 and 8) are equipped with idle reducing technologies. (2002)

Aviation

Air accounted for 8.4% of the energy used for transportation. (2005)

Fatality rate is 235.6 times less in aviation than that of Highway travel (link).

US aircraft use 1.3 million barrels of oil each day DOE/EIA-0383 (2008)

On one Northwest Airlines flight in 2008 from Paris to Minneapolis flying at an average speed of 532 mph, down from the usual 542 mph, saved 162 gallons of fuel, saving the airline $535. It added eight minutes to the flight, extending it to eight hours, 58 minutes (link).

Freight

Freight information was taken from the following two websites: North American Transportation Statistics Database (NATSD)
American Association of Port Authorities/Statistics (AAPA)

In 2005, 4,427.7 millions of metric tons of domestic freight is estimated to go by road.

In 2003, there was an estimated 9,316.6 million metric tons of domestic freight. Of this 43.68% of went by road, 17.52% by rail, 14.8% by pipeline. 9.84% by water, and .14% by air.

In 2006, the Port of LA (ranked number one when using TEU’s), handled 8,469,980 TEU’s (twenty-foot equivalent units). A standard linear measurement used in quantifying container traffic flows.

The US exports 421,539,259 short tons while it imports 982,027,291 short tons. (2006)

The US exports 30% of its total foreign trade. The rest, 70%, is imports. (2006)

The Port of Louisiana has the highest total trade (in short tons) at 225,489,999 short tons. (2006)