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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 2004, the fuel consumed in highway freight transportation increased from 20 billion to 34 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 increased marginally from 3.9 to 4.1 billion gallons.

Table 5-7 (standard units)

Table in Excel format | Historical data

empty Cell 1980 1990 2000 2003 2004
Highwayempty Cell
Gasoline, diesel and other fuels (million gallons) 114,960 130,755 162,555 (R) 170,069 173,750
Truck, total 19,960 24,490 35,229 (R) 32,696 33,968
Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck 6,923 8,357 9,563 (R) 8,880 9,263
Combination truck 13,037 16,133 25,666 (R) 23,815 24,705
Truck (percent of total) 17.4 18.7 21.7 (R) 19.2 19.6
Rail, Class I (in freight service)empty Cell
Distillate / diesel fuel (million gallons) 3,904 3,115 3,700 3,826 4,059
Waterempty Cell
Residual fuel oil (million gallons) 8,952 6,326 6,410 3,874 4,690
Distillate / diesel fuel oil (million gallons) 1,478 2,065 2,261 2,217 2,140
Gasoline (million gallons) 1,052 1,300 1,124 1,107 1,005
Pipelineempty Cell
Natural gas (million cubic feet) 634,622 659,816 642,210 (R) 591,492 571,853

Key: R = revised.

Sources: Highway: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2004 (Washington, DC: 2005), table VM-1 and similar tables in earlier editions.

Rail: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: November 2005), p. 40.

Water: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Fuel Oil and Kerosene Sales 2004 (Washington, DC: 2005), tables 2, 4, and similar tables in earlier editions.

Pipeline: U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Gas Annual 2004, DOE/EIA-0131(02) (Washington, DC: December 2005), table 15 and similar tables in earlier editions.


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

empty Cell 1980 1990 2000 2003 2004
Highwayempty Cell
Gasoline, diesel and other fuels (million gallons) 435,171 494,962 615,338 (R) 643,781 657,715
Truck, total 75,557 92,705 133,356 (R) 123,737 128,585
Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck 26,206 31,635 36,200 (R) 33,616 35,064
Combination truck 49,350 61,070 97,156 (R) 90,120 93,520
Truck (percent of total) 17.4 18.7 21.7 (R) 19.2 19.6
Rail, Class I (in freight service)empty Cell
Distillate / diesel fuel (million liters) 14,778 11,792 14,006 14,483 15,365
Waterempty Cell
Residual fuel oil (million liters) 33,887 23,947 24,264 14,665 17,754
Distillate / diesel fuel oil (million liters) 5,595 7,817 8,559 8,392 8,101
Gasoline (million liters) 3,982 4,921 4,255 4,192 3,804
Pipelineempty Cell
Natural gas (million cubic meters) 17,970 18,684 18,185 (R) 16,749 16,193

Key: R = revised.

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 2004 (Washington, DC: 2005), table VM-1 and similar tables in earlier editions.

Rail: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: November 2005), p. 40.

Water: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Fuel Oil and Kerosene Sales 2004 (Washington, DC: 2005), tables 2, 4, and similar tables in earlier editions.

Pipeline: U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Gas Annual 2004, DOE/EIA-0131(02) (Washington, DC: December 2005), table 15 and similar tables in earlier editions.

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