U.S. highway travel was up 1.4 percent in November from a year earlier, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Wednesday.
Five of the last six months have seen increases in vehicle miles traveled from a year ago as gas prices have eased from record highs seen in 2008 and the economy sputtered toward recovery, prompting more Americans to return to the road.
The increase of 3.2 billion miles driven by consumers reflects more drivers choosing to travel during the Thanksgiving holiday in 2009 after opting to stay close to home amid the recession in the previous year.
The rise coincides with a forecast from the travel and auto group AAA that Americans would travel 1.4 percent more over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2009 compared to 2008.
Cumulative travel through November 2009 inched up 0.3 percent, or 7.6 billion vehicle miles, from the same period in 2008, according to the Transportation Department.
During November, highway travel rose in the Northeast by 2.1 percent, in the Midwest by 1.9 percent, in the West by 1.3 percent, in the south central Gulf states by 1.0 percent and in the south Atlantic states by 0.8 percent.
The Transportation Department tracks motorists through more than 4,000 automatic traffic recorders operated by state highway agencies.
