The Northeast region saw the largest decrease in overall traffic volume
Each month the Federal Highway Administration tracks the Traffic Volume Trends both across the nation and by region. According to the latest data available for January 2021, ‘Cumulative Travel’ or the overall traffic across America continues to see a decrease in levels across all regions of the U.S. In particular, the trends note that travel on all roads and streets was down -11.3% (representing -28.4 billion vehicle miles) for January 2021 as compared to January 2020.
The Northeast continues to see the steepest decline in traffic volume as compared to all the other U.S. regions. As of January 2021, the FHA reported that it had a -16.2% change in traffic volume as compared to January 2020. The following screenshot from the Department of Transportation’s website shows each region’s traffic volume change:
Traffic Volume Trends
Other key trends highlighted by the Office of Highway Policy Information for the month of January 2021:
- Travel on all roads and streets changed by -11.3% (-28.4 billion vehicle miles) for January 2021 as compared with January 2020. Travel for the month is estimated to be 223.3 billion vehicle miles.
- The seasonally adjusted vehicle miles traveled for January 2021 is 247.1 billion miles, a -9.6% (-26.2 billion vehicle miles) decline from January 2020. It also represents 1.2% increase (2.8 billion vehicle miles) compared with December 2020.
- Cumulative Travel for 2021 changed by -11.3% (-28.4 billion vehicle miles). The cumulative estimate for the year is 223.3 billion vehicle miles of travel.
| Region | Total Travel | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|
| North-East | 27.3 | -16.2 |
| South-Atlantic | 51.0 | -11.1 |
| North-Central | 50.1 | -11.8 |
| South-Gulf | 48.3 | -7.9 |
| West | 46.6 | -11.2 |
More about the Traffic Volume Trends report from the Federal Highway Administration
Traffic Volume Trends is a monthly report based on hourly traffic count data reported by the States. These data are collected at approximately 5,000 continuous traffic counting locations nationwide and are used to estimate the percent change in traffic for the current month compared with the same month in the previous year. Estimates are re-adjusted annually to match the vehicle miles of travel from the Highway Performance Monitoring System and are continually updated with additional data.
