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FHWA Home / Policy & Governmental Affairs / Highway Policy Information / Traffic Volume Trends / Travel Trends - March 2016

March 2016 Traffic Volume Trends

Travel Trends (March 2016)

Based on preliminary reports from the State Highway Agencies, travel during March 2016 on all roads and streets in the nation changed by 5.0% (13.0 billion vehicle miles) resulting in estimated travel for the month at 273.4** billion vehicle-miles.

This total includes 81.7 billion vehicle-miles on rural roads and 191.6 billion vehicle-miles on urban roads and streets.

Cumulative Travel changed by 4.2% (29.8 billion vehicle miles).

The larger changes to rural and urban travel are primarily because of the expansion in urban boundaries reflected in the 2000 census. Travel estimates for 2004 and beyond will also reflect this adjustment.

Travel for the current month, the cumulative yearly total, as well as the moving 12-month total on all roads and streets is shown below. Similar totals for each year since 1990 are also included.

Travel in Millions of Vehicle Miles All Roads and Streets
Year March Year to
Date
Moving
12-Month
1991 179,076 490,316 2,141,887
1992 183,778 511,634 2,193,532
1993 187,869 522,393 2,257,911
1994 196,190 531,948 2,306,260
1995 201,227 566,118 2,391,757
1996 204,172 564,198 2,420,856
1997 211,952 586,028 2,504,031
1998 214,222 598,259 2,572,603
1999 220,763 605,830 2,632,934
2000 232,490 635,193 2,708,822
2001 232,587 643,149 2,754,882
2002 236,070 659,522 2,811,984
2003 236,679 658,890 2,854,878
2004 251,403 687,562 2,918,894
2005 253,182 697,225 2,974,451
2006 256,645 710,677 3,002,882
2007 259,740 712,760 3,016,455
2008 252,773 707,970 3,026,334
2009 247,433 690,304 2,958,862
2010 251,858 683,004 2,949,461
2011 250,793 687,731 2,971,691
2012 253,729 699,184 2,961,854
2013 250,539 695,442 2,965,074
2014 251,029 691,009 2,983,847
2015 260,380 716,166 3,050,812
2016 273,365 746,012 3,160,426

Traffic Volume Trends is a monthly report based on hourly traffic count data. These data, collected at approximately 4,000 continuous traffic counting locations nationwide, are used to determine the percent change in traffic for the current month compared to the same month in the previous year. This percent change is applied to the travel for the same month of the previous year to obtain an estimate of travel for the current month. Because of the limited sample sizes, caution should be used with theses estimates. The highway Performance Monitoring System provides more accurate information on an anual basis.

** System entries may not add up to the give "All Systems" total due to rounding on pages 2 to 8.

 

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Page last modified on April 12, 2016
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000