Vehicle-Miles Traveled Increases in 2014 to Highest Level Since 2008, FHWA Says

This story appears in the Sept. 8 print edition of Transport Topics.

Cars, trucks and buses logged 1.47 trillion vehicle-miles during the first half of this year, the highest level since 2008, the Federal Highway Administration recently reported.

FHWA also said Aug. 29 that June was the fourth straight month of year-over-year growth in vehicle-miles traveled. The travel statistic declined in January and February relative to the same months in 2013 due to the harsh winter.

Federal Highway is a part of the Department of Transportation, and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx seized on the figures as an argument in favor of an administration plan.

“More people driving means our economy is picking up speed,” Foxx said. “It also means we need to increase our investment in transportation to meet this demand, which is why Congress needs to pass the president’s four-year, $302 billion Grow America Act.”

First-half VMT in 2008 was 1.48 trillion, and the record first half was 2007, when the figure hit nearly 1.5 trillion.

The most recent level is 0.44% above the 2013 first half of 1.46 trillion VMT, and 1.23% higher than during the first half of 2011, 1.45 trillion VMT, and the lowest point after the recession.

“As the economy recovers, so, too, does driving go up,” said Beth McGinn, spokeswoman for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

McGinn said more people driving to and from work put more wear and tear on roads and bridges.

“We need more investment,” she said.

FHWA aggregates mileage reports from the states to get a national figure, said Darrin Roth, director of highway operations for American Trucking Associations. He said nationwide vehicle-miles traveled have doubled since 1980.

While highway congestion is a frequent complaint among drivers, Roth said it did dissipate during and immediately after the recession, and now it’s changing again.

“I guess we’ll go back to 2008 levels of congestion,” he said.

Federal Highway also reports truck-miles traveled on an annual basis, but the most recent report, issued in January, covers activity in 2012, when trucks accumulated 268.32 billion vehicle-miles.

Growth in mileage has accelerated as the year has progressed. June growth was 1.45% over the same month in 2013, rising to 261.69 billion VMT from 257.96 billion a year earlier.

Among regions within the country, FHWA said the eight South Atlantic states — Maryland to Florida — grew the fastest during June, adding 2% more vehicle-miles traveled compared with June 2013.

Washington, D.C., had the most growth in June, up 4.5%, year-over-year, followed by Tennessee at 3.7%.

The nine Northeast states — Pennsylvania to Maine — had the least growth in June, adding just 0.7% more miles traveled.

The government has been tracking mileage for 78 years, FHWA said.

ATA’s Roth said VMT is an important statistic for the Highway Trust Fund. Members of Congress follow the number, he said, and use it for estimating fuel-tax revenue to stock the trust fund.

When actual performance on VMT differs from projections, it can cause problems, Roth said. When the 2005 highway funding law was signed, continued growth in mileage was the assumption.

“But when mileage declined because of the recession, so did revenue, and that caused the bankruptcy of the Highway Trust Fund,” Roth said.

In addition to monitoring road usage, FHWA is the agency that dispenses most of the large road-building grants for the federal government to the states.

MAP-21, a two-year plan, was scheduled to expire Sept. 30, but President Obama signed a temporary fix in August that will last through May, when a new Congress will be in session, succeeding the current legislature.