Americans look past fuel cost, bad weather to set July Fourth travel
record
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[July 03, 2024] By
Shariq Khan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - High fuel costs and the threat of a hurricane are
not expected to dampen Americans' desire to hit the road this summer,
with vacationers preparing for record travel to kick off Fourth of July
holiday festivities.
Motorist group AAA expects a record of almost 71 million people to
travel around the U.S. Independence Day holiday, growth similar to a
pre-pandemic trajectory.
Some 60 million people will drive with nearly 6 million flying to their
destinations, while around 4.6 million people will take buses, trains or
cruises during the holiday period, according to AAA's forecast.
"We've never seen numbers like this," AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross
said. "2024's travel seems to be what 2020 would have been, had it not
been for the pandemic," he added.
U.S. summer travel will be closely watched from multiple fronts this
year, as it could offer central bank officials and policymakers an
important measure of consumer sentiment in an election year.
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Inflation was unchanged in May even as consumer spending rose, boosting
hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve might be able to control inflation
while avoiding a recession.
Gasoline prices have eased over the past few months, with the national
average price for a gallon of motor fuel at $3.50 on Tuesday, a 3 cent
decline from last year. Domestic airfare is 2% cheaper than last year,
with an average domestic round trip costing $800, according to AAA
booking data.
'WANTING TO TRAVEL'
Despite recent declines, fuel prices remain well above historical
levels. The average price for a gallon of gasoline was $2.74 during the
July Fourth week in 2019, and the weekly average price from 2015 through
2019 was under $2.50 a gallon.
Still, vacationers' travel plans are largely unaffected by higher prices
this year, according to a survey of over 1,000 people by auto retail
group American Trucks.
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![](../images/070324PIX/busine84.jpg)
Traffic is seen on a highway ahead of the July 4th holiday, in New
York, U.S., July 2, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
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"What we have noticed is that it's more about the rate of change
than the price itself that affects the psyche of consumers," said
John LaForge, head of real asset strategy at Wells Fargo Investment
Institute.
Since the price of gasoline has not moved dramatically higher or
lower in the past six months, consumer psyche is largely unaffected
by it, LaForge said.
For now, U.S. vacation travel is unlikely to be affected by
Hurricane Beryl, which has brought devastation to some Caribbean
Islands since Monday, but is expected to weaken considerably as it
reaches Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula by Thursday night.
U.S. fuel inventories are also better stocked than they have been in
recent years, providing motorists a buffer from sudden price shocks
in case the hurricane disrupts refining operations.
U.S. gasoline stockpiles stood at around 234 million barrels in the
week ended June 21, about 5% higher than the same time last year,
government data showed. Diesel stocks were around 6% higher, while
jet fuel stocks were about 7% higher than last year.
"Americans are optimistic and wanting to travel, there's no denying
it," GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York; Editing Liz Hampton and Bill
Berkrot)
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