Ignore the headline and think about this for a moment. Economy is growing, paychecks are growing with less taxes, raises are bigger this year. Why would gas consumption continue on a downward trend since mid 2016 as seen on the graphs?
Fewer and fewer illegals immigrants are driving on the roads. That is at least my hypothesis.
The volume of traffic on U.S. highways has stopped growing, alongside gasoline consumption, as rising prices are starting to curb driving behavior, a new analysis by Reuters' energy analyst John Kemp shows. Traffic volumes in July were 0.3% lower than a year earlier, after seasonal adjustments, the latest Federal Highway Administration data showed.
Traffic growth has been negative in two months so far this year, the first readings sub-zero prints since the start of 2014. Meanwhile volumes were up by less than 0.3% in the three months from May to July compared with the same period a year earlier, down from annual growth of 2-3% throughout 2015 and 2016.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-25/us-traffic-volumes-declines-first-time-4-years