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Table 5-7 and 5-7M: Fuel Consumption by Transportation Mode

The number of gallons of fuel burned by commercial trucks nearly doubled over the past twenty years, while fuel use in several other modes declined. Between 1980 and 2003, the fuel consumed in highway freight transportation increased from 20 billion to 38 billion gallons annually. This is due to a substantial increase in the number of trucks on the road, an increase in the average number of miles traveled per truck, and a doubling of truck vmt. Over the same period, fuel use in Class I freight rail declined from 3.9 to 3.8 billion gallons.

Table 5-7 (standard units)

Table in Excel format | Historical data

empty Cell 1980 1990 2000 2003
Highwayempty Cell
Gasoline, diesel and other fuels (million gallons) 114,960 130,755 162,555 169,624
Truck, total 19,960 24,490 35,229 37,585
Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck 6,923 8,357 9,563 10,690
Combination truck 13,037 16,133 25,666 26,895
Truck (percent of total) 17.4 18.7 21.7 22.2
Rail, Class I (in freight service)empty Cell
Distillate / diesel fuel (million gallons) 3,904 3,115 3,700 3,826
Waterempty Cell
Residual fuel oil (million gallons) 8,952 6,326 6,410 3,874
Distillate / diesel fuel oil (million gallons) 1,478 2,065 2,261 2,217
Gasoline (million gallons) 1,052 1,300 1,124 1,107
Pipelineempty Cell
Natural gas (million cubic feet) 634,622 659,816 642,210 664,973

Sources: Highway: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1 and similar tables in earlier editions.

Rail: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: October 2004), p. 40.

Water: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Fuel Oil and Kerosene Sales (Washington, DC: Annual issues), tables 2, 4, and similar tables in earlier editions.

Pipeline: U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Gas Annual 2003, DOE/EIA-0131(02) (Washington, DC: January 2005), table 15 and similar tables in earlier editions.


Table 5-7M (metric units)
Table in Excel format

empty Cell 1980 1990 2000 2003
Highwayempty Cell
Gasoline, diesel and other fuels (million gallons) 435,171 494,962 615,338 642,099
Truck, total 75,557 92,705 133,356 142,276
Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck 26,206 31,635 36,200 40,467
Combination truck 49,350 61,070 97,156 101,809
Truck (percent of total) 17.4 18.7 21.7 22.2
Rail, Class I (in freight service)empty Cell
Distillate / diesel fuel (million liters) 14,778 11,792 14,006 14,483
Waterempty Cell
Residual fuel oil (million liters) 33,887 23,947 24,264 14,665
Distillate / diesel fuel oil (million liters) 5,595 7,817 8,559 8,392
Gasoline (million liters) 3,982 4,921 4,255 4,192
Pipelineempty Cell
Natural gas (million cubic meters) 17,970 18,684 18,185 18,830

Notes: 1 gallon = 3.8 liters; 1 cubic foot = 0.03 cubic meters.

Sources: Highway: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1 and similar tables in earlier editions.

Rail: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: October 2004), p. 40.

Water: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Fuel Oil and Kerosene Sales (Washington, DC: Annual issues), tables 2, 4, and similar tables in earlier editions.

Pipeline: U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Gas Annual 2003, DOE/EIA-0131(02) (Washington, DC: January 2005), table 15 and similar tables in earlier editions.

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