New Jersey residents consume more energy for transportation than for residential, commercial or industrial uses. And though total energy consumption for the state has declined in recent years, largely driven by a significant drop in industrial energy consumption, energy use for transportation (including transit) has grown. In 1997, New Jersey residents consumed 838 trillion BTUs for transportation. By 2004 that had grown more than 5 percent to 882 trillion BTUs. The transportation sector now accounts for more than 35 percent of total energy consumption in the state.
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Source: Energy Information Administration. State Energy Consumption, Price, and Expenditure Estimates, 1960-2001. |
Recent data from the Federal Highway Administration examines the trend in gasoline consumption. That data shows a significant increase in gasoline use over the period from 1997 to 2004. New Jersey residents consumed 4.4 billion gallons of gas in 2004, up 16.5 percent since 1997. This amounts to more than 500 gallons annually per capita.
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Source: FHWA, Highway Statistics Series, Table MF-33GA, 1997-2004. |
In fact, gasoline consumption has grown even faster than vehicle miles traveled, indicating that fuel economy has declined over the period. In 1997, New Jersey residents averaged 16.8 miles per gallon. That dropped slightly to 16.6 miles per gallon in 2004. This is a reflection of New Jersey's changing vehicle fleet. While the total number of vehicles in the state grew only 7 percent from 1997 to 2004, the number of low-mileage minivans, pickups, SUVs and other light trucks grew 52 percent.
Fuel economy as measured here may also be slightly low because of the “border effect” created as large numbers of non-residents and truckers purchasing gasoline in New Jersey (which has one of the nation’s lowest motor fuel taxes), even as they do most of their driving in neighboring states.
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Source: FHWA, Highway Statistics Series, Tables PS-1 and MF-33GA, 1997-2004. |