By David Bird
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Total vehicle miles driven in September fell 4.4% from a year earlier to the lowest level for the month since 2001, the latest data from the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration show.
Figures for the first nine months of the year show vehicle travel down 3.5% from the year-earlier period and the lowest January-September period since 2003.
September's year-on-year drop was 10.7 billion vehicle miles, compared with a 5.6%, or 15 billion drop, reported last month for August.
The biggest decline occurred in the South Atlantic region, which fell 5.7% from a year ago, followed by the South-Gulf region, where travel was down 5.2%. Two hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, struck the Gulf Coast region in September.
Miles traveled in the North-Central region were down 4% in September from a year ago, while in the Northeast, travel was down 3.4%.
Separately, data from the Energy Information Administration show retail regular gasoline prices in September averaged $3.703 a gallon, up 32.1% from a year earlier, but 2% below the August average.
-By David Bird, Dow Jones Newswires, 1-201-938-4423, david.bird@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 19, 2008 17:01 ET (22:01 GMT)

Publié le 19 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones