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

In addition to safety concerns, freight transportation also has major implications for energy use and the environment. The number of gallons of fuel burned by commercial trucks has nearly doubled over the past twenty years, while fuel use in several other modes has declined. Between 1980 and 2002, the fuel consumed in highway freight transportation increased from 20 billion to 37 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 vehicle miles traveled (vmt). Over the same period, fuel use in Class I freight rail declined from 3.9 to 3.7 billion gallons.

Table 5-7 (standard units)
Table in Excel format

empty Cell 1980 1990 2000 2002
Highway empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell
Gasoline, diesel and other fuels (million gallons) 114,960 130,755 162,555 167,730
Truck, total 19,960 24,490 35,229 36,756
Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck 6,923 8,357 9,563 10,305
Combination truck 13,037 16,133 25,666 26,451
Truck (percent of total) 17.4 18.7 21.7 21.9
Rail, Class I (in freight service) empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell
Distillate / diesel fuel (million gallons) 3,904 3,115 3,700 3,730
Water empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell
Residual fuel oil (million gallons) 8,952 6,326 6,410 4,848
Distillate / diesel fuel oil (million gallons) 1,478 2,065 2,261 2,079
Gasoline (million gallons) 1,052 1,300 1,124 1,081
Pipeline empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell
Natural gas (million cubic feet) 634,622 659,816 642,210 667,027

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

empty Cell 1980 1990 2000 2002
Highway empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell
Gasoline, diesel and other fuels (million litres) 435,171 494,962 615,338 634,928
Truck, total 75,557 92,705 133,356 139,137
Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck 26,206 31,635 36,200 39,010
Combination truck 49,350 61,070 97,156 100,127
Truck (percent of total) 17.4 18.7 21.7 21.9
Rail, Class I (in freight service) empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell
Distillate / diesel fuel (million litres) 14,778 11,792 14,006 14,120
Water empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell
Residual fuel oil (million litres) 33,887 23,947 24,264 18,351
Distillate / diesel fuel oil (million litres) 5,595 7,817 8,559 7,870
Gasoline (million litres) 3,982 4,921 4,255 4,093
Pipeline empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell empty Cell
Natural gas (million cubic meters) 17,970 18,684 18,185 18,888

Note: 1 gallon = 3.8 litres; 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-1and similar tables in earlier editions.

Rail: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts 2003 (Washington, DC: October 2003), 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 2002, DOE/EIA-0131(02) (Washington, DC: January 2004), table 15 and similar tables in earlier editions.

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