Despite spending fewer hours in traffic, truck drivers are losing more money due to traffic congestion, largely the result of skyrocketing costs to operate a truck.
That was the key finding of the American Transportation Research Institute’s latest “Cost of Congestion to the Trucking Industry” study. Using the latest data available, the report reveals that in 2022, traffic congestion hit truckers’ wallets harder than ever before as the nation was still reeling from the effects of the pandemic.
In 2022, traffic congestion cost the trucking industry nearly $109 billion, a 15% increase from the previous year and up 37% from 2019. From 2016 through 2020, those costs hovered around $80 billion before spiking in 2021 in the wake of the pandemic.
Per truck, traffic congestion is costing fleets and owner-operators thousands of dollars each year. ATRI estimates that congestion costs $7,588 per truck, which is about 3% of the average annual per-truck revenue.
An increase in the cost of traffic congestion comes despite a 5% decrease in total hours spent in traffic delays nationwide. Hours of congestion jumped in 2021 as traffic patterns began to return to pre-pandemic levels and freight demand soared. In 2022, congestion began to stabilize to relatively normal levels as the freight market softened.
ATRI points to trucking operational costs as the reason for the increase in traffic congestion costs despite less time being spent in traffic.
The study looked at three metrics to determine the cost of congestion: average speeds in bottlenecks, truck vehicle miles traveled and operational costs.
At more than 52 mph, average speeds were up slightly from 2021 and way up compared to 2019. Meanwhile, truck vehicle miles traveled stabilized after spiking in 2021. Higher speeds, stable mileage and fewer hours in traffic should lead to lower congestion costs. However, external factors brought up total costs.
According to ATRI, operational costs per truck skyrocketed in 2022 to $90.78 per hour, a 22% increase from 2021 and up 36% compared to 2019. ATRI attributes that increase to higher prices for fuel, trucks and driver wages. Although fewer hours were spent in traffic, the spike in hourly costs of trucking operations made that time waiting in traffic more expensive.
Although traffic congestion is costing the trucking industry billions of dollars, everyone is paying for it.
An inefficient interstate system drives up the costs of shipping, which trickles down to the consumer.
“When traffic volumes along critical freight corridors exceed highway capacity, however, the ensuing congestion impedes freight movement and creates inflationary increases in the cost of goods and services,” ATRI’s report states.
Then there are the environmental costs. Traffic congestion causes truck drivers to travel at lower speeds that have less fuel efficiency. ATRI calculated that congestion in 2022 caused trucks to burn about 6.4 billion more gallons of diesel than necessary. With average diesel prices in 2022 nearly $5, that amounted to more than $32 billion. It also resulted in 65.4 million metric tons of additional carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act poured billions of dollars into infrastructure improvements. However, ATRI notes that all of that money may not have been “adequately targeted to traffic congestion hotspots and bottlenecks, which is where strategic investments are most needed.” Meanwhile, there is a nationwide effort to stop highway widening projects, including a federal lawsuit attempting to end a major Interstate 5 project in Oregon.
Listen to more details about efforts to stop highway widening projects below:
Geographically, the cost of traffic congestion is up in all five regions. Costs are the highest in the Southeast at more than $35 billion, with the Northeast in a distant second at just under $25 billion.
As a percentage change from 2021, the states (not including Hawaii) with the highest traffic congestion costs are Vermont (52%), Minnesota (45%), Kentucky (43%), Alaska (39%) and Arizona (39%). Only five states experienced a year-to-year decrease: Louisiana (minus 13%), New Mexico (minus 9%), Maryland (minus 7%), California (minus 2.5%) and Ohio (minus 2%).
By metro area, overall costs of traffic congestion are highest in New York City; Miami; Chicago; Philadelphia; Dallas; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Houston; Nashville; and Atlanta. As a percentage change, metros leading the charge include New Orleans (37%), Buffalo (29%), El Paso (28%), Orlando (28%) and Tulsa (26%). ATRI surmises that increases in New Orleans, Buffalo and El Paso were likely the result of a surge in port activity.
Traffic delays are concentrated in small pockets, with 17% of National Highway System segment miles accounting for 87% of truck traffic congestion. LL
Credit: Source link
