Cargo Business Newswire

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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Study: U.S. freight congestion cost $23 billion in 2010

A new transportation study claims truck congestion costs $23 billion in driver time and diesel fuel in 2010.

The 2011 Urban Mobility Report released by by the Texas Transportation Institute studied freight mobility in 439 U.S. urban areas with populations over 50,000.

“To put the truck congestion problems into perspective, $7 trillion worth of commodities were trucked on America’s urban streets and highways during 2010,” said Dr. Bill Eisele, a research engineer for the Texas Transportation Institute in a statement.

“This is greater than the gross domestic product of China and twice that of Germany. This value includes both American-made products and imports,” he said.

The Chicago region topped the study's list of highest truck congestion, losing 31.4 million hours and approximately $2.3 billion in wasted time and fuel.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California area ranked second in truck congestion, checking in with over 30.3 million in lost hours, at a cost of $2.3 billion in wasted time, fuel.

The New York City area came in a very close third, totaling 30.2 million lost hours and $2.2 billion wasted, according to the study.

The report's suggested solutions include investment in new roads, rail lines, lanes or connectors on existing roads, and additional lanes and docking facilities at warehouses and distribution centers.