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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 4-6M: Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Table 4-6M: Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation

(Petajoules)

Excel | CSV

  1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Air                                        
Certificated carriersa                                        
Jet fuel 278 554 1,119 1,077 1,213 1,441 1,755 1,639 1,675 1,703 1,764 1,805 1,883 1,932 1,899 2,051 2,114 1,997 1,830 1,846
General aviationb                                        
Aviation gasoline 31 37 70 52 66 53 45 45 40 34 34 36 37 37 39 44 (R) 42 (R) 35 35 35
Jet fuel N 8 30 65 109 98 94 82 70 65 66 80 87 91 116 138 (R) 138 (R) 136 140 141
Highway                                        
Gasoline, diesel and other fuels                                        
Passenger car and motorcycle 5,430 6,558 8,952 9,793 9,256 9,456 9,200 8,507 8,655 8,869 8,978 9,003 9,155 9,244 9,482 9,693 9,664 9,727 (R) 9,978 9,862
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle N e 1,624 2,516 3,138 3,609 4,696 5,040 5,398 5,651 5,818 6,014 6,245 6,513 6,655 6,971 6,982 7,059 (R) 7,283 7,425
Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck N 2,026 581 793 1,013 1,083 1,223 1,196 1,205 1,242 1,322 1,349 1,377 1,401 998 1,371 1,399 1,415 (R) 1,510 1,564
Combination truck N 974 1,075 1,343 1,908 2,049 2,361 2,460 2,519 2,597 2,730 2,894 2,955 2,971 3,682 3,591 3,756 3,733 (R) 3,875 3,936
Bus 121 128 120 154 149 122 131 126 128 136 141 142 145 150 152 168 163 150 (R) 146 140
Transitc                                        
Electricity 10 9 9 10 9 15 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 19 20 20 (P) 20 U
Motor fuel                                        
Diesel 30 36 40 53 63 89 95 97 100 99 99 99 101 105 108 112 115 109 (P) 106 U
Gasoline and other nondiesel fuelsd 25 16 9 1 1 6 4 4 5 6 8 8 8 8 7 6 6 6 (P) 8 U
Compressed natural gas N N N N N N N N <1 <1 1 2 2 3 5 6 8 10 (P) 12 U
Rail, Class I (in freight service)                                        
Distillate / diesel fuel 507 526 519 535 571 455 456 425 440 452 488 509 524 523 524 544 541 543 546 560
Amtrak                                        
Electricity N N N 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 U U
Distillate / diesel fuel N N N 9 9 10 12 12 12 12 11 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 U U
Water                                        
Residual fuel oil 624 489 596 641 1,414 725 999 1,070 1,037 834 851 930 900 791 888 922 1,012 854 766 612
Distillate / diesel fuel oil 115 95 120 161 216 249 302 299 325 315 320 342 364 377 380 354 331 299 304 324
Gasoline N N 79 96 139 139 171 226 174 115 115 140 131 130 126 145 148 131 143 146
Pipeline                                        
Natural gas 378 544 786 634 690 548 718 654 639 679 746 762 774 817 691 702 699 680 (R) 725 723

KEY: N = data do not exist; P = preliminary; R = revised; U = data are unavailable.

a Domestic operations only.

b Includes fuel used in air taxi operations, but not commuter operations.

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 other single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck category.

NOTES

The following conversion rates were used:

Jet fuel = 37,626,700 joules/liter

Compressed natural gas = 38,657,950 joules/liter

Aviation gasoline = 33,501,698 joules/liter

Distillate fuel = 38,655,829 joules/liter

Automotive gasoline = 34,839,537 joules/liter

Residual fuel = 41,723,829 joules/liter

Diesel motor fuel = 38,657,950 joules/liter

Natural gas = 38,413,974 joules/m3

Electricity 1kWh = 3,600,000 joules/kWh, negating electrical system losses. To include approximate electrical system losses, multiply this conversion factor by 3.

1.055056 petajoules = 1 trillion British thermal unit (Btu).

SOURCES

Air:

Certificated air carriers:

1960-2003: 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 Dec. 23, 2004.

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.

1975-93: Ibid., General Aviation and Air Taxi Activity Survey (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table 5.1, and similar tables in earlier editions.

1994-2003: Ibid., FAA Aerospace Forecasts Fiscal Years 2004-2015 (Washington, DC: Mar. 2004), table 34 and similar tables in earlier editions.

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. (Revised data obtained from Internet site http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/ohimstat.htm as of August 2001).

1995-2003: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1.

Transit:

Electricity / motor fuel / compressed natural gas:

1960-2002: American Public Transportation Association, 2004 Public Transportation Fact Book (Washington, DC: March 2004), tables 33, 34, 35, and similar tables in earlier editions.

Rail:

1960-2003: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: 2004), p. 40.

Amtrak:

1975-2001: Amtrak, Energy Management 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.

1985-2003: 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.

Gasoline:

1970-2003: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table MF-24 and similar tables in earlier editions.

Pipeline:

1960-2003: U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Gas Annual 2003, DOE/EIA-0131(03) (Washington, DC: Dec. 2004), table 15 and similar tables in earlier editions.