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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

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(Petajoules)

  1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Air                                                
Certificated carriersa                                                
Jet fuel 278 554 1,119 1,077 1,213 1,441 (R) 1,739 (R) 1,618 (R) 1,652 (R) 1,703 (R) 1,780 (R) 1,825 (R) 1,878 (R) 1,945 (R) 1,895 (R) 2,064 1,980 1,868 1,750 1,769 1,906 1,892 1,854 1,851 1,776 1,588
General aviationb,c                                                
Aviation gasoline 31 37 70 52 66 53 45 45 40 34 34 (R) 36 37 37 39 44 42 35 35 35 35 37 36 35 31 29
Jet fuel U 8 30 65 109 98 94 82 70 65 66 80 87 91 116 138 138 131 134 133 175 217 234 212 243 206
Highway                                                
Gasoline, diesel and other fuels                                                
Light duty vehicle, short wheel base and motorcycled 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 9,978 9,976 9,944 10,235 9,921 11,876 11,352 11,346
Light duty vehicle, long wheel based U U 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 7,283 8,013 8,364 7,764 8,003 4,868 4,606 4,717
Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more trucke U 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 1,261 1,275 1,361 1,171 1,181 1,253 1,299 2,152 2,261 2,155
Combination truck U 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 3,385 3,365 3,492 3,141 3,190 3,652 3,707 4,076 4,030 3,710
Bus 121 128 120 154 149 122 131 126 128 136 141 142 145 150 152 168 147 135 132 128 179 148 151 267 271 246
Transitf                                                  
Electricity 10 9 9 10 9 15 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 19 20 20 20 20 21 21 22 23 17
Motor fuel                                                  
Dieselg 30 36 40 53 63 89 95 97 100 99 99 99 (R) 78 (R) 79 (R) 82 (R) 84 86 87 99 81 80 78 80 79 78 96
Gasoline and other nondiesel fuelsh 25 16 9 1 1 6 4 4 5 6 8 8 (R) 3 (R) 3 (R) 3 (R) 3 3 3 5 3 4 4 4 4 4 13
Compressed natural gas U U U U U U U U 0 0 1 2 (R) 2 (R) 3 (R) 4 (R) 5 6 8 10 12 13 14 16 16 16 21
Rail, Class I (in freight service)                                                
Distillate / diesel fuel 507 526 519 535 571 455 456 425 440 452 488 509 524 523 524 544 541 543 546 560 594 600 613 594 569 467
Amtrak                                                    
Electricity U U U 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (R) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Distillate / diesel fuel U U U 9 9 9 12 12 12 12 11 (R) 11 10 11 (R) 11 (R) 12 14 14 12 11 10 10 9 9 9 9
Water                                                
Residual fuel oil 624 489 596 641 1,414 725 999 1,070 1,037 834 851 930 900 791 888 922 1,012 854 766 612 741 818 909 999 800 718
Distillate / diesel fuel oil 115 95 120 161 216 249 302 299 325 315 320 342 364 377 380 354 331 299 304 324 313 293 278 282 174 185
Gasoline U U 79 96 139 139 171 226 174 115 115 140 131 130 126 145 148 131 143 146 133 166 163 161 150 149
Pipeline                                                    
Natural gas 378 544 786 634 690 548 718 654 639 679 746 762 774 817 691 702 699 680 725 643 616 635 635 676 705 651

KEY: 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 The values for energy consumption by general aviation in 2009 are estimated values.

d Data for 2007-09 were calculated using a new methodology developed by FHWA. Data for these years are based on new categories and are not comparable to previous years. The new category Light duty vehicle, short wheel base includes passenger cars, light trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles with a wheelbase (WB) equal to or less than 121 inches. The new category Light duty vehicle, long wheel base includes large passenger cars, vans, pickup trucks, and sport/utility vehicles with wheelbases (WB) larger than 121 inches. In addition, this edition of table 4-06M is not comparable to previous editions.

e 1965 data includes other 2-axle 4-tire vehicles.

f Prior to 1984, excludes commuter rail, automated guideway, ferryboat, demand responsive vehicles, and most rural and smaller systems.

g Diesel includes Diesel and Bio-Diesel.

h Gasoline and all other nondiesel fuels include Gasoline, Liquified Petroleum Gas, Liquified Natural Gas, Methane, Ethanol, Bunker Fuel, Kerosene, Grain Additive, and Other Fuel.

NOTES

The following conversion rates were used:

Jet fuel = 37,626,700 joules/liter

Aviation gasoline = 33,501,698 joules/liter

Automotive gasoline = 34,839,537 joules/liter

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

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

Distillate fuel = 38,655,829 joules/liter

Residual fuel = 41,723,829 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:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, Fuel Cost and Consumption, available at http://www.bts.gov/programs/airline_information as of Apr. 21, 2011.

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.

1994-2009: Ibid., FAA Aerospace Forecasts Fiscal Years 2011-2031 (Washington, DC: February 2011), tables 22 and 30, and similar tables in earlier editions, available at http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/apl/aviation_forecasts/ as of Apr 26, 2011.

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, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm as of Sep. 28, 2009.

1995-2009: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

Transit:

Electricity / motor fuel / compressed natural gas:

American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book, Appendix A: Historical Tables (Washington, DC: Annual issues), tables 29, 30, 31 and similar tables in earlier editions, available at http://apta.com/resources/statistics/Pages/transitstats.aspx as of Apr. 26, 2011.

Rail:

Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: Annual issues).

Amtrak:

1975-2009: 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.

1985-2009 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Fuel Oil and Kerosene Sales (Washington, DC: Annual issues), tables 1, 2, and similar tables in earlier editions, available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/fuel_oil_and_kerosene_sales/foks.html as of Apr. 25, 2011.

Gasoline:

1970-2009: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table MF-24 and similar tables in earlier editions, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm as of Apr. 26, 2011.

Pipeline:

U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Gas Annual, DOE/EIA-0131(04) (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table 15 and similar tables in earlier editions, available at http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/ng/ng_pub_publist.asp as of Apr. 26, 2011.