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

Table 4-4: U.S. Energy Consumption by the Transportation Sector

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Table 4-4: U.S. Energy Consumption by the Transportation Sector

(Quadrillion Btu)

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  1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 P2000
Energy consumption (all sectors)R 45.12 54.02 67.86 72.04 78.44 76.78 84.34 84.30 85.51 87.30 89.21 90.94 93.93 94.34 94.61 96.85 98.50
Total transportation consumptiona 10.60 12.43 R16.10 18.24 19.70 20.07 22.54 22.13 22.47 22.90 23.52 R23.98 24.52 24.82 R25.39 R26.31 26.64
% of total energy consumptionR 23.5 23.0 23.7 25.3 25.1 26.1 26.7 26.3 26.3 26.2 26.4 26.4 26.1 26.3 26.8 27.2 27.0
Total primary consumptionb 10.56 12.40 16.06 18.21 19.66 20.02 22.49 22.08 22.42 22.84 23.47 23.92 24.47 24.77 R25.34 R26.26 26.58
Coal 0.074 0.017 0.007 0.001 e e e e e e e e e e e e e
Million short tons 3.0 0.7 0.3 <0.05 e e e e e e e e e e e e e
Natural gasc 0.36 0.52 R0.75 0.60 0.65 0.52 0.68 0.62 0.61 0.64 0.71 0.72 0.73 0.78 0.66 R0.76 0.77
Trillion cubic feet 0.35 0.50 0.72 0.58 R0.64 0.50 0.66 0.60 0.59 0.62 0.69 0.70 0.71 R0.75 0.64 R0.74 0.75
Petroleum productsd 10.13 11.87 15.31 17.61 19.01 R19.51 21.81 21.46 21.81 22.20 22.76 23.20 23.74 R23.99 R24.68 R25.49 25.81
Million barrels 1,881 2,205 2,840 3,267 3,495 3,595 4,004 3,942 4,008 4,081 4,194 4,281 4,377 4,431 E4,552 E4,654 E4754
Electricity R0.010 0.010 R0.011 0.010 0.011 0.014 0.016 0.016 0.016 0.016 0.017 0.017 0.017 0.017 0.017 0.017 0.018
Electrical system energy lossesf R0.026 R0.024 R0.026 R0.025 0.027 0.033 R0.035 0.035 R0.033 R0.034 R0.035 R0.034 R0.034 R0.034 R0.034 R,g0.040 0.041

KEY: Btu = British thermal unit; E = estimated; R = revised; P = preliminary.

a Sum of primary consumption, electricity, and electrical system energy losses categories.

b Sum of coal, natural gas, and petroleum categories.

c Consumed in the operation of pipelines, primarily in compressors, and small amounts consumed as vehicle fuel.

d Includes most nonutility use of fossil fuels to produce electricity and small amounts (about 0.1 quadrillion Btu per year since 1990) of renewable energy in the form of ethanol blended into motor gasoline.

e From 1980, small amounts of coal consumed for transportation are included in industrial sector consumption.

f Incurred in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity plus plant use and unaccounted for electrical system energy losses.

g There is a discontinuity in this time series between 1998 and 1999; beginning in 1999, nonutility consumption of fossil fuels is included in electric power sector consumption and the calculation of electrical system energy losses.

NOTES: Energy consumption (all sectors) differs from totals in table 4-2 for 1990 and subsequent years.

Table 4-2 includes primary energy consumption only.

SOURCES:

Energy consumption (all sectors), total transportation consumption and total primary consumption:

1960-2000: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 2000, DOE/EIA-0384 (2000), (Washington DC: August 2001) table 2.1a, Internet site http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/contents.html as of October 2001.

Coal:

Btu: Ibid., table 2.1e.

Short tons: Ibid., table 7.3.

Natural gas:

Btu: Ibid., table 2.1e.

Cubic feet: Ibid., table 6.5.

Petroleum products:

Btu: Ibid., table 2.1e.

Barrels: Ibid., table 5.12c. (barrels/day x 365 or 366 for leap years).

Electricity and electrical system energy losses:

Ibid., table 2.1e.