Record number of US drivers expected over July 4 weekend: AAA

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – A record number of Americans will hit the road during the upcoming Independence Day weekend (June 30 – July 4) despite retail diesel and gasoline prices trading near record highs, US motoring association AAA said on Tuesday.

The AAA predicts a total of 47.9 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home during the weekend, with 42 million people set to take the car.

That figure is up 0.4% on the year and 1.1% to 2019 levels – setting a new record for the early July weekend.

"Recent issues with air travel and ongoing concerns of cancelations and delays may be driving this increase. In fact, the share of people traveling by air will be the lowest since 2011," the AAA said.

The association expect 3.55 million to take flights, up 1.5% on the year but down 9.3% from 2019 levels.

While journeys on public transport will sharply recover on the year to 2.42 million, they are down 31.6% to 2019 levels.

"Traveling by car does provide a level of comfort and flexibility that people may be looking for given the recent challenges with flying," the AAA added.

On Monday, President Biden said he is considering temporality scrapping the federal gasoline, set at 18.3 cents per gallon and diesel tax at 24.3 cents per gallon, to aid households with soaring bills and energy costs.

The news propelled gasoline cracks higher on Tuesday with those in Asia reaching a record of $38.5/b, while cracks hit a one-week high of $46.1/b on the prospects of an opening arb to the US.