Sport utility vehicle (SUV) registrations nearly doubled in Indiana between 1997 and 2002, while Wisconsin and the District of Columbia experienced double-digit increases and Rhode Island saw no significant change. These are a few of the facts from the first state reports released today from the 2002 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS).

According to the 2002 Economic Census-related survey, SUV registrations jumped from 276,000 to 565,000 in the Hoosier State, an increase of 105 percent, for the five-year period. The District of Columbia saw an increase of about 81 percent, and Wisconsin registrations were up about 43 percent (See Table 1).

Reports for the remaining states will be posted on the Internet over the next several months, followed by a U.S. summary report.

The VIUS reports include information on fuel efficiency, annual mileage, primary range of operation, permanent equipment and other physical and operational characteristics. Data are for pickup trucks, SUVs, minivans, all other single-unit trucks and truck-tractors.

Additional highlights from the four reports:

• An estimated 2.2 million private and commercial trucks were registered in Indiana during 2002, 1.9 million in Wisconsin, 216,700 in Rhode Island and 42,600 in the District of Columbia.
  
• Between 1997 and 2002, minivan registrations increased an estimated 32 percent in the District of Columbia and 23 percent in Wisconsin.
  
• The estimated number of pickup trucks registered in the District of Columbia dropped 12 percent, from 7,500 to 6,600, between 1997 and 2002.
  
• Indiana and Wisconsin each had about one pickup truck for every four licensed drivers, Rhode Island had one for every nine licensees and the District of Columbia had one for every 47 drivers, according to estimates in the reports and statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.
  
• In 2002, an estimated 7 percent of large trucks registered in the District of Columbia carried hazardous materials, as did 6 percent in Indiana, 5 percent in Wisconsin and 4 percent in Rhode Island.

Estimates in this report are based on data from the 2002 VIUS. They contain sampling and nonsampling errors. To keep the identity of an individual firm confidential, some estimates may be suppressed. Users making their own estimates, based on the survey estimates, should cite the U.S. Census Bureau as the source of the original estimates only. See <http://www.census.gov/ svsd/www/02vehinv.html> for measures of sampling variability and other survey information.

Table 1. Selected Single-Unit Truck Registrations for District of Columbia, Indiana,
Rhode Island and Wisconsin: 2002 and 1997

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey: 2002 and 1997
<www.census.gov/svsd/www/02vehinv.html>

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