The United States is a nation on the move. About 27% of total U.S. energy consumption in 2022 was for transporting people and goods from one place to another.1
The major transportation energy sources used in the United States are:
The types and uses of transportation energy sources include:
In 2022, petroleum products accounted for about 90% of total U.S. transportation sector energy use. Biofuels contributed about 6%, most of which were blended with petroleum fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel). Natural gas accounted for about 5%, and nearly all was used as a fuel for natural gas pipeline compressors. Electricity use by mass transit systems was less than 1% of total energy consumption by the transportation sector. Electricity use for charging electric vehicles was relatively small in 2022 but is expected to increase.2
Gasoline is the dominant transportation fuel in the United States, followed by distillate fuels (mostly diesel fuel) and jet fuel. Gasoline includes motor gasoline and aviation gasoline. On an energy content basis, gasoline (excluding fuel ethanol) accounted for 52% of total energy consumption by the U.S. transportation sector in 2022. Distillate fuels, mostly diesel (excluding biofuels blended with diesel), accounted for 23%, and jet fuel accounted for 12%.
The national average fuel economy for light-duty vehicles (passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, sport utility vehicles, and crossover vehicles) has improved over time mainly because of the fuel economy standards the federal government established for those types of vehicles. However, total motor gasoline consumption for transportation generally increased after fuel economy standards were set because of increases in the number of vehicles in use and in the number of miles traveled per vehicle. The increase in vehicles was primarily light pickup trucks, minivans, sport utility vehicles, and crossover vehicles, which have lower fuel economy than many passenger cars.
Ethanol and biodiesel were some of the first automobile fuels, but they were replaced by gasoline and diesel fuel made from crude oil by the early 1900's. Today, most of the motor gasoline sold in the United States contains up to 10% ethanol by volume. Most biodiesel and renewable diesel fuel is blended with petroleum diesel. In 2022, total biofuels consumption accounted for about 6% of total U.S. transportation sector energy consumption. Ethanol's share was about 4%, and the share of biodiesel, renewable diesel, and other biofuels combinded was about 2%.1
Cars, vans, and buses are commonly used to transport people. Trucks, airplanes, and trains are used to move people and freight. Barges and pipelines move freight or bulk quantities of materials.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that light-duty vehicles—cars, light trucks, and motorcycles—account for the largest share of total U.S. transportation sector energy consumption.2
Last updated: August 16, 2023, with data from the Monthly Energy Review, May 2023, and Annual Energy Outlook 2023, March 2023; data for 2022 are preliminary.
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