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FHWA Home / Policy & Governmental Affairs / Highway Policy Information / Traffic Volume Trends / Travel Trends - May 2018

May 2018 Traffic Volume Trends

Travel Trends (May 2018)

Based on preliminary reports from the State Highway Agencies, travel during May 2018 on all roads and streets in the nation changed by 0.8% (2.2 billion vehicle miles) resulting in estimated travel for the month at 286.2** billion vehicle-miles.

This total includes 87.4 billion vehicle-miles on rural roads and 198.8 billion vehicle-miles on urban roads and streets.

Cumulative Travel changed by 0.3% (4.2 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 1993 are also included.

Travel in Millions of Vehicle Miles All Roads and Streets
Year May Year to
Date
Moving
12-Month
1993 205,981 917,111 2,269,835
1994 206,594 933,949 2,313,543
1995 212,586 976,916 2,400,555
1996 218,676 988,128 2,433,987
1997 226,082 1,023,401 2,517,474
1998 227,899 1,044,079 2,581,051
1999 230,786 1,057,611 2,638,895
2000 242,501 1,105,392 2,727,240
2001 245,357 1,121,018 2,762,553
2002 251,746 1,148,494 2,823,086
2003 253,244 1,151,550 2,858,565
2004 257,235 1,195,766 2,934,438
2005 262,678 1,210,763 2,979,787
2006 263,370 1,224,630 3,003,297
2007 267,574 1,232,661 3,022,147
2008 261,466 1,220,154 3,017,314
2009 258,276 1,202,563 2,955,919
2010 256,927 1,196,574 2,950,774
2011 254,083 1,194,039 2,964,730
2012 260,774 1,212,058 2,968,422
2013 263,406 1,213,718 2,970,229
2014 266,237 1,216,758 2,991,321
2015 270,839 1,242,391 3,051,288
2016 277,972 1,275,462 3,128,444
2017 283,956 1,295,749 3,194,695
2018 286,172 1,299,922 3,216,841

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 July 12, 2018
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000