The Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) is sponsored by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Federal Highway Administration, and the U.S. Department of Energy, and is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.

VIUS provides data on the physical and operational characteristics of the nation’s truck population. Its primary goal is to produce national and state-level estimates of the total number of trucks and truck miles.

Prior to 1997, VIUS was known as the Truck Inventory and Use Survey (TIUS). It was renamed to account for areas of future expansion, including the addition of automobiles and buses.

Title 13, United States Code, Section 9, requires the Census Bureau to keep your information CONFIDENTIAL and to use your responses only to produce statistics.

The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify your business, organization or institution. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.

The survey universe for VIUS includes all private and commercial trucks registered (or licensed) in the United States. This includes: 1) pickups; 2) minivans, other light vans, and sport utilities; 3) light single-unit trucks (GVW < 26,000 lbs.); 4) heavy single-unit trucks (GVW >= 26,000 lbs.); and 5) semi-trucks.

The VIUS sample excludes vehicles owned by federal, state, and local governments; ambulances; buses; motor homes; farm tractors; unpowered trailer units; and trucks reported to have been disposed of prior to January 1 of the survey year.

VIUS collects data on physical and operational characteristics of trucks. Physical characteristics include date of purchase, weight, number of axles, overall length, type of transmission, and body type. Operational characteristics include type of use, lease characteristics, operator classification, base of operation, gas mileage, annual and lifetime miles driven, commodities hauled by type, and hazardous materials carried. Less detailed physical characteristics data are collected for pickups, vans, minivans, and sport utility vehicles because they are relatively homogenous in design and use.

VIUS started as part of the 1963 Census of Transportation (called the Truck Inventory and Use Survey). VIUS was conducted every 5 years from 1963 to 2002, when it was discontinued.

VIUS was resumed in 2021.

From 1963 to 2002, VIUS data were collected using paper questionnaires. Starting with the 2021 VIUS, data collection will be accomplished primarily by web-based questionnaires, using paper questionnaires as needed for those without sufficient access to the web-based versions.  

VIUS data have historically been used in a variety of studies that benefit the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Federal Highway Administration, the Department of Energy, and many other stakeholders.

VIUS data are needed for freight movement analysis, highway cost allocation, truck size and weight evaluation, investment and performance analysis, commercial motor vehicle safety analysis, cost allocation studies, energy consumption and demand studies, and system performance analysis.