The Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey is Back

Friday, September 29, 2023

U.S. Department of Transportation releases light-to-heavy duty truck data to help inform critical safety, climate, and economic decisions for our Nation's roadways

Since 1963, the Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) has been the principal data source on the physical and operational characteristics of the truck population in the United States. After 20 years, VIUS is back! The U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) restored the VIUS for a better and more recent understanding of the characteristics and use of trucks, vans, mini-vans, and sport utility vehicles on our Nation's roadways. The data will guide investments in our Nation's transportation infrastructure and vehicle technologies. It will also be used to evaluate truck safety, estimate emissions and energy consumption, and understand the role of trucks in economic activity.

"Every day, under President Biden, we are working to modernize infrastructure nationwide—but we can only make the best possible decisions if we have reliable transportation data," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "This survey data is vital for helping us deliver a safer, cleaner, stronger transportation system for all."

Some key data points from both the 2002 and 2021 VIUS datasets include:

The total number of trucks, operated on U.S. roadways was 169.8 million, compared to 85.1 million in 2002.
The annual number of miles driven by these trucks was 1.9 trillion miles, a 70% increase from 1.1 trillion miles in 2002.
Light-duty trucks, which have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of less than 10,000 pounds, had a fuel efficiency of 19.5 miles per gallon (MPG) in 2021, compared to 17.4 MPG in 2002. In 2021, the average annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) was 9,800 per truck, and in 2002, the average was 12,200.
Heavy-duty trucks, which have a GVWR over 26,000 pounds, had a fuel efficiency of 6.34 MPG in 2021, compared to 6.23 MPG in 2002. In 2021, the average annual VMT for these trucks was 36,000 per truck, and in 2002, the average was 41,000.

VIUS data details how the Nation's truck use of certain transportation modes has changed after 20 years. The 2021 VIUS collected data from a sample of 150,000 vehicles (classes 1 through 8) including pick-ups, sport utility vehicles, minivans, light vans, straight trucks, and truck tractors. These vehicles were selected from more than 190 million private and commercial registered vehicles in 49 states and the District of Columbia. VIUS details important data to Federal, state, and local transportation agencies, business, and truck owners including, but not limited to:

Truck characteristics: ages, body types, sizes, weights, fuel types, maintenance needs, axle configurations, and safety technologies of trucks.
Use details: business or personal purposes, driving frequency, miles traveled, and commodities carried.

VIUS data can be used in vehicle size and weight studies, freight demand modeling, air quality modeling, probing the role of vehicles in the economy, assessing fuel efficiency of the Nation's truck fleet, analyses of fees and allocation of cost among highway users, and quantifying highway users' exposure to safety risks.

"It is really an accomplishment that we were able to bring back VIUS after all these years," said BTS Director Pat Hu. "Our partnership with the Census Bureau, as well as the Department of Energy and the Federal Highway Administration, provides a wealth of information on various physical characteristics and usage information of trucks that the Nation has missed since 2002."

With the pace of electric vehicle (EV) adoption and increased use across the country, BTS is planning the first Electric Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (eVIUS) to obtain a national picture of the demographic characteristics of the EV-owning households, and the characteristics, usage, and charging patterns of EVs. Data from eVIUS will inform policy and planning decisions on future transportation systems and infrastructure investments.