Off-Highway Transportation-Related Fuel Use
The transportation sector includes many subcategories--for example, on-highway, off-highway, and non-highway. Use of fuel for off-highway purposes is not well documented, nor is the number of off-highway vehicles. The number of and fuel usage for on-highway and aviation, marine, and rail categories are much better documented than for off-highway land-based use. Several sources document off-highway fuel use under specific conditions--such as use by application (e.g., recreation) or by fuel type (e.g., gasoline). There is, however, no single source that documents the total fuel used off-highway and the number of vehicles that use the fuel. This report estimates the fuel usage and number of vehicles/equipment for the off-highway category. No new data have been collected nor new models developed to estimate the off-highway data--this study is limited in scope to using data that already exist. In this report, unless they are being quoted from a source that uses different terminology, the terms are used as listed below. (1) ''On-highway/on-road'' includes land-based transport used on the highway system or other paved roadways. (2) ''Off-highway/off-road'' includes land-based transport not using the highway system or other paved roadways. (3) ''Non-highway/non-road'' includes other modes not traveling on highways such as aviation, marine, and rail. It should be noted that the term ''transportation'' as used in this study is not typical. Generally, ''transportation'' is understood to mean the movement of people or goods from one point to another. Some of the off-highway equipment included in this study doesn't transport either people or goods, but it has utility in movement (e.g., a forklift or a lawn mower). Along these lines, a chain saw also has utility in movement, but it cannot transport itself (i.e., it must be carried) because it does not have wheels. Therefore, to estimate the transportation-related fuel used off-highway, transportation equipment is defined to include all devices that have wheels, can move or be moved from one point to another, and use fuel. An attempt has been made to exclude off-highway engines that do not meet all three of these criteria (e.g., chain saws and generators). The following approach was used to determine the current off-highway fuel use. First, a literature review was conducted to ensure that all sources with appropriate information would be considered. Secondly, the fuel use data available from each source were compiled and compared in so far as possible. Comparable data sets (i.e., same fuel type; same application) were evaluated. Finally, appropriate data sets were combined to provide a final tally.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 876111
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-2004/92; TRN: US200617%%26
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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