While gas prices are nearly 40-percent higher today than they were one year ago – the AAA auto club anticipates 31-million Americans will head for the highways this Memorial Day weekend. A survey of traveler intentions suggests the average distance traveled will be 792 miles. Thanks to ethanol – they’ll spend quite a bit less on gasoline that would otherwise be the case. In fact – the Renewable Fuels Association says the average American family traveling this weekend will save more than 31-dollars simply because ethanol is holding gasoline prices down. Aggregate gasoline savings due to ethanol this Memorial Day – based on AAA estimates of average trip length – will be 440-million dollars.

Where did these numbers come from? Well, a recent Center for Agricultural and Rural Development study by economists at Iowa State University and the University of Wisconsin found that the increase in ethanol use kept wholesale gasoline prices down 89-cents per gallon from what they would have been in 2010. So assuming that each gallon of gasoline purchased would cost 89-cents more per gallon, that the average trip will be 792 miles in length – and that the average fuel economy rate is 22.5-miles per gallon; the average traveling party would purchase 35.2 gallons of gasoline for the trip. That gives you a savings of around 31-dollars – actually – just a little bit more.

The aggregated savings assumes the average traveling party is 2.2 people. If 31-million people are traveling – that means there are some 14-million traveling parties – and each is saving a little more than 31-dollars on gasoline purchases as a result of ethanol. That brings total savings to around 440-million dollars.