The US' Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is weeks late publishing its monthly tally of US vehicle miles driven, a key data series signaling national fuel demand by region.
The agency has not published its Traffic Volume Trends report since 3 June when it reported US vehicle miles traveled for April. The data is published within 60 days of a month's closing, according to the report's FAQ page, meaning the May report was to be published no later than 30 July.
The FHWA report provides a glimpse of state-level road fuel demand for a given month, which became more important after the US discontinued other state-level fuel demand surveys in 2022. Even as rising engine efficiency and the adoption of battery or other transportation technologies have muddied the connection between highway miles and fuel consumption, the FHWA reports offer insight into shifting national transportation usage and offer an early indicator of fuel consumption in states with low-carbon fuel standards.
The administration of President Donald Trump this year has ceased publication of other energy data, most notably the Energy Information Administration's International Energy Outlook (IEO) — which models long-term global trends in energy supply and demand — because of a loss of staff responsible for producing the report. This year's IEO — a key source of data and models for oil and gas producers, traders, utility companies, federal regulators and foreign governments — might still be published early next year, the EIA said in May.
The delayed FHWA report is related to the finalization of a contract with a vendor, not because of staffing cuts.
An agency spokesman said he does not know when publication will resume. "FHWA has not ended this data series," the spokesman said Monday in an email.
