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US fuel consumption and traffic fall

Written by Zane Merva
Thursday, 24 April 2008
For years traffic and fuel consumption in the US have been on the rise. Not this year. As reported in the recent edition of Business Week, traffic volume and fuel consumption have begun to fall significantly as high fuel prices begin to effect consumers decisions and driving habits. Preliminary figures from the Federal Highway Administration show traffic levels last year fell 1.4%. Combine that with estimates of a 0.3% decline in consumption (the first decline in consumption since 1991) and it's clear that rising prices for fuel have begun to have a tremendous effect. But using less gas is good, right? Not so fast. In theory using less fuel is good, however in this case it's a product of a larger problem. A slowdown in the economy, not because we're driving more efficient vehicles. Automotive sales have fallen 8% so far in 2008 putting a strain on an already weakened industry. Also of no surprise is that the American Public Transportation Association is reporting a 50-year high in use of public transportation. In the short term, increased fuel prices will no doubt put many Americans on edge. On the flip side, it may also be the catalyst to bring fuel efficiency and economy to the front stage once and for all. Source: [Business Week] Bookmark Email This Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Title Comment smaller \| bigger Subscribe via email (Registered users only)