USA Banner

Official US Government Icon

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure Site Icon

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Table 4-5M. Fuel Consumption by Mode of Transportation

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Table 4-5M. Fuel Consumption by Mode of Transportation

Excel | CSV

  1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
Air                             
Certificated carriersa                             
Jet fuel (million liters) 7,397 14,721 29,742 28,610 34,432 38,312 R47,049 R43,555 R44,528 R45,270 R47,227 48,499 49,922 51,709 52,530
General aviationb                             
Aviation gasoline (million liters) 916 1,105 2,086 1,560 1,968 1,594 1,336 1,340 1,189 1,014 999 1,045 1,086 R1,105 1,177
Jet fuel (million liters) N 212 787 1,715 2,900 2,616 2,510 2,184 1,870 1,719 1,783 2,059 2,150 R2,430 3,085
Highway                             
Gasoline, diesel and other fuels (million liters)                             
Passenger car and motorcycle 155,849 188,222 256,950 281,078 265,683 271,414 264,067 244,163 248,425 254,554 257,707 258,424 262,780 R265,335 274,117
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle N e 46,610 72,229 90,078 103,580 134,802 144,667 154,933 162,209 166,982 172,634 179,254 R186,954 191,462
Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck N 52,420 15,021 20,517 26,206 28,008 31,635 30,934 31,180 32,131 34,190 34,886 35,617 R36,249 36,874
Combination truck N 25,203 27,815 34,739 49,350 53,015 61,070 63,629 65,170 67,183 70,609 74,864 76,439 R76,851 79,872
Bus 3,131 3,312 3,104 3,986 3,854 3,157 3,388 3,271 3,324 3,517 3,649 3,664 3,748 R3,888 3,971
Transitc                             
Electricity (million kWh) 2,908 2,584 2,561 2,646 2,446 4,216 4,837 4,853 4,716 4,865 5,081 5,068 5,007 R4,988 P5,250
Motor fuel (million liters)                             
Diesel 787 939 1,026 1,382 1,632 2,305 2,464 2,517 2,593 2,570 2,567 2,567 2,623 R2,714 P2,650
Gasoline and other nondiesel fuelsd 727 469 257 30 42 174 129 129 140 174 227 231 231 R223 P189
Compressed natural gas N N N N N N N N 4 6 18 42 57 R91 P117
Rail, Class I (in freight service)                             
Distillate/diesel fuel (million liters) 13,109 13,597 13,419 13,843 14,778 11,773 11,792 11,000 11,375 11,689 12,621 13,173 13,548 13,533 13,563
Amtrak                             
Electricity (million kWh) N N N 180 254 295 330 303 300 301 309 304 293 282 275
Distillate/diesel fuel (million liters) N N N 238 242 246 310 310 310 314 284 250 269 284 284
Water                             
Residual fuel oil (million liters) 14,960 11,708 14,286 15,369 33,887 17,375 23,947 25,639 24,844 19,995 20,388 22,281 21,581 18,965 21,274
Distillate/diesel fuel oil (million liters) 2,979 2,468 3,100 4,156 5,595 6,431 7,817 7,745 8,400 8,158 8,286 8,854 9,429 9,744 9,823
Gasoline (million liters) N N 2,264 2,763 3,982 3,986 4,921 6,473 4,982 3,308 R3,316 4,013 3,763 3,736 3,619
Pipeline                             
Natural gas (million cubic meters) 9,828 14,173 20,449 16,508 17,970 14,265 18,684 17,027 16,642 17,678 19,407 19,831 20,146 R21,279 17,995

a Domestic operations only.
b Includes fuel used in air taxi operations, but not commuter operations. Data for 1996 are estimated using  new information on nonrespondents and are therefore not comparable to earlier years. See the accurracy statement at the end of this chapter for more detailed information.
c Prior to 1984, excludes commuter rail, automated guideway, ferryboat, demand responsive vehicles, and most  rural and smaller systems.
d Gasoline and all other nondiesel fuels such as liquefied natural gas, methanol and propane, except compressed natural gas.
e Included in single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck category.  

KEY: kWh = kilowatt-hour; N = data do not exist; P = preliminary; R = revised. 

SOURCES: 
Air: 
Certificated air carriers: 
1960-98: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, Internet site http://www.bts.gov/oai/fuel/fuelyearly.html,  as of July 5, 2000.
General aviation: 
1960-70: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation - 1972 edition (Washington, DC: 1973), table 9.12. 
1975-97: Ibid., General Aviation and Air Taxi Activity Survey (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table 5.1, and similar tables in earlier editions. 
1998: Ibid., FAA Aerospace Forecasts Fiscal Years 2000-2011 (Washington, DC: March 2000), table 29. 
Highway: 
1960-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics, Summary to 1995,  FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table VM-201A. 
1995-98: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1.
Transit: 
Electricity/motor fuel/compressed natural gas: 
1960-98: American Public Transit Association, Transportation Fact Book (Washington, DC: February 1999), tables 65, 66, 67, and similar tables in earlier editions.  
Rail: 
1960-98: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: May 1999), p. 40. 
Amtrak: 
1975-98: Amtrak, State and Local Affairs Department, personal communication. 
Water: 
Residual and distillate/diesel fuel oil: 
1960-80: American Petroleum Institute, Basic Petroleum Data Book (Washington, DC: Annual issues), tables 10, 10a, 12, and 12a. 
1985-98: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Fuel Oil and Kerosene Sales (Washington, DC: Annual issues), tables 2 and 4,   and similar tables in earlier editions.  
Gasoline: 
1970-98: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table MF-24  and similar tables in earlier editions. 
Pipeline: 
1960-96: U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Gas Annual 1997 (Washington, DC: October 1998), table 101. 
1997-98: Ibid., table 1.