The 14 percent reduction is enshrined in the latest monthly Eco-Driving Index from the University of Michigan.

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Some of this added burden has already come to light in the latest wholesale price index, which showed rising oil costs are driving an increase in manufacturing costs.

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Already driving WMT suppliers to improve performance, in the future the index could appear on a point-of-sale label for products.

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He said the index measured a two percent decline in per capita driving, which is also significant because vehicle miles traveled went straight up for decades.

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The Index is uniquely based on real travel time data captured by vehicles driving the entire road network.

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Firms that amass too much money, too fast, can feel compelled to buy companies at rich multiples, driving performance down so far that investors would be better off buying simple, liquid stock-index funds.

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Financial stocks have the 30-stock index higher in 2012, but it was a housing play that proved to be the engine driving its advance.

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