According to a report recently released by the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan, the average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in March 2014 rose to 25.4 miles per gallon (mpg), up 5.3 mpg from the October 2007 average, when researchers first began collecting data. In a separate study, fuel consumption by American drivers was found to be 11% lower in 2012 than in 2004, which researchers attributed to a combination of improved vehicle fuel economy and a reduction in distances driven.