While the total number of trucks increased 111% from 2002 to 2021, the total truck miles increased 70%.
April 29, 2024
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While the total number of trucks increased 111% from 2002 to 2021, the total truck miles increased 70%. The data on which this was based is the Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) and includes all trucks – pickups, SUVs, minivans, cargo vans, single-unit trucks and truck-tractors. The recently released 2021 VIUS contains a myriad of data on the nation’s truck population, both personal use trucks and those used commercially. Historically, VIUS was conducted in a five-year cycle up to 2002. The latest data show that overall, miles per truck are lower than they were in 2002, possibly due to influences from lower personal travel during the pandemic and greater use of hub and spoke distribution for medium/heavy trucks.
Note: VMT = vehicle miles traveled.
Sources: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics; and, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. (2023-12). 2021 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey Datasets: 2021 Public Use File (PUF). U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics; U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration; U.S. Department of Energy. Accessed January 2024.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Census of Transportation, 2002 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey Public Use File, Washington, DC, 2005.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Census of Transportation, 1997 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey Microdata File, Washington, DC, 2000.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Census of Transportation, 1992 Truck Inventory and Use Survey Microdata File, Washington, DC, 1995.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Census of Transportation, 1987 Truck Inventory and Use Survey [machine-readable data file], Washington, DC, 1990.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Census of Transportation, 1982 Truck Inventory and Use Survey [machine-readable data file], Washington, DC, 1985.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Census of Transportation, 1977 Truck Inventory and Use Survey [machine-readable data file], Washington, DC, 1979.