Vehicle travel in the U.S. varies by month. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that some months are shorter than others. The vehicle miles of travel (VMT) recorded in February is always the lowest of the year. February 2010 was the lowest in this data series, which is likely weather-related (snowstorms in the Northeast). Travel always increases in the summer months, then declines in September, which is the beginning of the school year for many systems across the nation. In the year 2008, when gas prices rose to over $4 per gallon for a short time, monthly travel did not rise above 260 billion in any month.

Total VMT by Month, 2004 - 2010
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Supporting Information

Total VMT by Month, 2004-2010
Month(Billions of Miles) Month(Billions of Miles)
Jan-04222.0 Apr-07252.4
Feb-04213.5 May-07267.2
Mar-04252.1 Jun-07265.3
Apr-04251.7 Jul-07267.0
May-04257.1 Aug-07271.5
Jun-04257.8 Sep-07246.2
Jul-04266.2 Oct-07261.6
Aug-04262.9 Nov-07246.0
Sep-04242.9 Dec-07240.9
Oct-04253.7 Jan-08229.5
Nov-04238.6 Feb-08217.6
Dec-04243.9 Mar-08248.2
Jan-05224.2 Apr-08248.1
Feb-05220.1 May-08257.1
Mar-05253.6 Jun-08251.8
Apr-05250.9 Jul-08257.6
May-05262.1 Aug-08257.1
Jun-05264.0 Sep-08234.9
Jul-05267.4 Oct-08252.1
Aug-05265.3 Nov-08233.2
Sep-05241.6 Dec-08238.6
Oct-05252.1 Jan-09226.3
Nov-05243.5 Feb-09219.2
Dec-05244.9 Mar-09249.0
Jan-06232.9 Apr-09252.9
Feb-06220.8 May-09260.4
Mar-06256.6 Jun-09260.7
Apr-06250.4 Jul-09267.7
May-06264.2 Aug-09263.1
Jun-06263.2 Sep-09244.1
Jul-06262.8 Oct-09254.7
Aug-06266.5 Nov-09239.3
Sep-06246.4 Dec-09241.9
Oct-06258.1 Jan-10222.5
Nov-06245.8 Feb-10212.9
Dec-06246.3 Mar-10254.1
Jan-07233.7 Apr-10255.9
Feb-07218.7 May-10260.6
Mar-07259.3   

Source: Federal Highway Administration, Traffic Volume Trends, May 2010, and older editions.

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