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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 (Petajoules)

Friday, July 22, 2016

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  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 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Air                                                              
Certificated carriersa                                                              
Jet fuel 278 554 1,119 1,077 1,213 1,441 1,739 1,618 1,652 1,703 1,780 1,825 1,878 1,945 1,895 2,064 1,980 1,868 1,750 1,769 1,906 1,892 1,854 1,851 1,776 1,588 1,575 1,542 1,458 1,447 1,470
General aviationb                                                              
Aviation gasoline 31 37 70 52 66 53 45 45 40 34 34 36 37 37 39 44 42 35 35 35 35 37 36 35 31 29 28 27 26 25 25
Jet fuel N 8 30 65 109 98 94 82 70 65 66 80 87 91 116 138 138 131 134 133 175 217 234 212 243 206 204 207 204 179 195
Highway                                                              
Gasoline, diesel and other fuels                                                              
Light duty vehicle, short wheel base and motorcyclec 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 9,971 10,235 9,921 11,876 11,352 11,360 11,502 11,653 11,685 11,686 11,777
Light duty vehicle, long wheel basec N 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 4,710 4,781 4,660 4,631 4,637 4,925
Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truckd N 1,826 523 715 913 976 1,102 1,078 1,086 1,119 1,191 1,215 1,241 1,263 899 1,236 1,261 1,275 1,361 1,171 1,181 1,253 1,299 2,152 2,261 2,143 1,991 1,875 1,896 1,913 1,964
Combination truck N 878 969 1,210 1,719 1,847 2,128 2,217 2,270 2,341 2,460 2,608 2,663 2,677 3,318 3,236 3,385 3,365 3,492 3,141 3,190 3,652 3,707 4,076 4,030 3,699 3,947 3,717 3,689 3,798 3,840
Bus 109 115 108 139 134 110 118 114 116 123 127 128 131 135 137 151 147 135 132 128 179 148 151 267 271 262 253 255 272 279 295
Transite                                                              
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 23 23 24 23 24 24
Motor fuel                                                              
Dieself 30 36 40 53 63 89 95 97 100 99 99 99 78 79 82 84 86 87 99 81 80 78 80 79 78 96 93 91 90 89 79
Gasoline and other nondiesel fuelsg 25 16 9 1 1 6 4 4 5 6 8 8 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 3 4 4 4 4 4 13 13 13 13 14 14
Compressed natural gas N N N N N N N N 0 0 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 12 13 14 16 16 16 21 18 19 18 19 20
Rail, Class I (in freight service)                                                              
Distillate / diesel fuel 507 526 519 535 571 455 456 425 440 452 488 509 524 523 524 544 541 543 546 560 594 600 613 594 569 467 511 539 527 539 540
Amtrak                                                              
Electricity N N N 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 (R) 2 2
Distillate / diesel fuel N N N 9 9 10 12 12 12 12 11 11 10 11 11 12 14 14 12 11 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 (R) 10 10
Water                                                              
Residual fuel oil 624 489 596 641 1,414 725 999 1,070 1,037 834 851 930 900 791 888 922 1,012 854 766 612 741 818 909 999 830 725 812 720 761 665 608
Distillate / diesel fuel oil 115 95 120 161 216 249 302 299 325 315 320 342 364 377 380 354 331 299 304 324 313 293 278 282 290 280 293 312 259 245 233
Gasoline N N 79 96 139 139 171 226 174 115 115 140 131 130 126 145 148 131 143 146 133 166 163 161 150 149 154 146 144 148 187
Pipeline                                                              
Natural gas 378 544 786 634 690 548 718 654 639 679 746 762 774 817 691 702 699 680 725 643 616 635 635 676 705 729 733 748 795 (R) 906 909

KEY: Btu = British thermal unit; N = data does not exist; R = revised; U = data is unavailable.

a Domestic operations only.

b Includes fuel used in air taxi operations, but not commuter operations. The values for energy consumption by general aviation in 2012 are estimated values.

c Data for 2007-12 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 4-06 is not comparable to previous editions.

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

e Data from 1997-2013 are not comparable to data before 1997 due to different sources. Prior to 1984, excludes commuter rail, automated guideway, ferryboat, demand responsive vehicles, and most rural and smaller systems.

fDiesel includes Diesel and Bio-Diesel.

gGasoline 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 = 135,000 Btu/gallon.

Aviation gasoline = 120,200 Btu/gallon.

Automotive gasoline = 125,000 Btu/gallon.

Diesel motor fuel = 138,700 Btu/gallon.

Compressed natural gas = 138,700 Btu/gallon.

Distillate fuel = 138,700 Btu/gallon.

Residual fuel = 149,700 Btu/gallon.

Natural gas = 1,031 Btu/ft3.

Electricity 1kWh = 3,412 Btu, negating electrical system losses. To include approximate electrical system losses, multiply this conversion factor by 3.

1 Btu = 1.055056 kilojoule.

SOURCES

Air:

Certificated air carriers:

1960-2014: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, Fuel Cost and Consumption, available at http://www.transtats.bts.gov/fuel.asp as of Mar. 24, 2016.

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.

1994-2014: Ibid., FAA Aerospace Forecasts Fiscal Years 2015-2035 (Washington, DC: 2015), tables 23 and 31, and similar tables in earlier editions, available at http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/apl/aviation_forecasts/ as of Mar. 24, 2016.

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 June 29, 2010.

1995-2014: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Mar. 24, 2016.

Transit:

Electricity / motor fuel / compressed natural gas:

1960-96: American Public Transportation Association, 2009 Public Transportation Fact Book (Washington, DC: June 2009), tables 26, 27, 28 and similar tables in earlier editions.

1997-2014: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transportation Database, table 17 and similar tables in previous years, available at www.ntdprogram.gov as of Mar. 24, 2016.

Rail:

1960-2014: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), p. 43.

Amtrak:

1975-2014: National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), Energy Management Department and Government Affairs Department, personal communications, Apr. 27, 2011, May 8, 2013, Aug. 20, 2014, Spet. 11, 2015 and Jun. 20, 2016.

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.

1985-2014 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Fuel Oil and Kerosene Sales (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/fuel_oil_and_kerosene_sales/foks.html as of Mar. 24, 2016.

Gasoline:

1970-2014: 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 Mar. 24, 2016.

Pipeline:

1960-2014: U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Gas Annual, DOE/EIA-0131(04) (Washington, DC), table 15 and similar tables in earlier editions, available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/natural_gas/data_publications/natural_gas_annual/nga.html as of Mar. 24, 2016.