Traffic Volume Reaches 21-Month High in July; Highest July Travel Volume on Record

The Federal Highway Administration reported today that travel on all roads and streets in the U.S. increased by +0.8% in July 2010 compared to the same month last year. Total travel for the month of July was an estimated 270 billion vehicle miles, the highest travel volume for the month of July on record. On a moving 12-month total basis, the annual vehicle-distance traveled through July was 2,983 billion miles, the highest 12-month total since September 2008, 22 months ago (see chart above).

Following a sharp decline in traffic volume that coincided almost perfectly with the recession that started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009 (it's now official, see shaded area in chart), the economic recovery that started last summer has been accompanied by a gradual increase in traffic volume as both personal and commercial travel on U.S. roads and highways have rebounded.