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Congestion is costing trucking companies billions each year

ATRI study quantifies costs

Posted May 17, 2017

The trucking industry incurred an additional $63.4 billion in operational costs in 2015 as the result of traffic congestion on U.S. highways, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) reports.

ATRI used a variety of data sources in its study to determine the cost of delays on the U.S. National Highway System. According to the research group, it resulted in:

  • More than 996 million hours of lost productivity. This is equivalent to 362,243 commercial truck drivers sitting idle for one working year; and
  • An additional $22,676 per truck on average for vehicles traveling 100,000 miles annually.

ATRI also identified locations affected most by congestion. In respect to economic impact, it cost the top 10 states over $2 billion each. Florida and Texas were the top two contenders, with over $5 billion each.

Urban areas experienced the most severe traffic congestion, with:

  • 88 percent of the congestion costs concentrated on only 17 percent of the network mileage; and
  • 91 percent of the total congestion cost occurring in metropolitan areas.

This is substantiated by ATRI’s annual list of the worst truck bottlenecks in the U.S.


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