Record-low Memorial Day travel expected despite low prices

TRENTON, N.J. – Analysts expect travel numbers for this year’s Memorial Day weekend are likely to set a record low despite the cheapest prices in the pump in nearly two decades.

AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gas in New Jersey on Friday was $2.01, up a penny from a week ago.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $1.94, an increase of 8 cents in the last week. Analysts say not since 2003 has the national gas price average leading into the Memorial Day holiday been under $2.

Last year, analysts forecast that more than one million New Jersey residents would travel 50 miles or more for the holiday weekend, but the state remains under a stay-at-home order and anecdotal reports suggest fewer people will hit the road for what is considered the unofficial start of the summer travel season.

Last year, 43 million Americans travelled for Memorial Day Weekend – the second-highest travel volume on record since AAA began tracking holiday travel volumes in 2000.