5 minutes

Dennis Katsnelson

ATRI Mentions Increases in Traffic, Trucking Volume, Diesel Prices, and High Consumer Spending

A recent report by the American Transportation Research Institute titled "Cost of Congestion" states that traffic jams on American roadways caused transportation industry expenditures to rise from $74.5 billion in 2016 to $94.6 billion in 2021. The paper claims that although the COVID-19 epidemic caused congestion costs to drop yearly in 2020, they sharply surged in 2021, resulting in a total of 1.27 billion hours of lost productivity." "The surge in expenses is an indication of the robust economic recovery that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, which was propelled by unprecedented levels of consumer spending and freight demand."

"This degree of delay is equivalent to over 460,000 commercial truck drivers being idle for an entire work year; the figure for 2021 signifies a 27% escalation from the report's reference year of 2016 an expansion that surpasses the inflation rate by twofold.

In the United States, highway congestion is a serious issue that may prove fatal to a fleet of trucks. Even if downtime is already excruciating, vehicles that are stopped for maintenance wouldn't normally be traveling on the roads. Our country's supply chain is slowed down and carrier profitability is decreased when trucks avoid traffic jams and take longer routes to reach their destinations.

As part of an ongoing research project by ATRI, the study, which was released on October 25, revealed the highest amount to yet. According to ATRI, the analysis covers the years 2017 through 2021 and expands upon the yearly congestion cost figures that were previously released in 2016. According to ATRI, factors that have increased congestion expenses thus far in 2021 include commuter traffic, robust GDP growth, consumer expenditure, a spike in diesel prices, and increases in transportation rates and volumes.

According to research by Newjobs4you, congestion led to the transportation sector wasting more than 6.7 billion gallons of diesel fuel in 2021, resulting in additional fuel expenses of more than $22.3 billion. In 2021, delays resulting from obstructions wasted fuel, causing a projected 69 million metric tons of excess carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere.

ATRI's investigation revealed delays at the state and urban levels along with the corresponding cost consequences, in addition to the national findings. Every one of the 10 states spent more than $3 billion, with the highest three states being California ($9 billion), Texas ($7.26 billion), and Florida ($7.16 billion). All together, these 10 states account for more than half (53%) of the transportation industry's national expenditures related to congestion. In addition, the analysis showed that the New York City metropolitan region had the highest cost per capita of any city, coming close to $5.5 billion annually.

There were just a few states where the expense of congestion was reduced; the most notable states being Alaska and Wyoming.

"Our industry has witnessed some of the most dramatic increases in operating expenses, including fuel, labor, and equipment, over the past several years," said Boyle Transportation's vice president of EHS and Quality, Michael Lasko. "Think about the exponential rise in costs resulting from sitting in traffic." It is crucial to remember that these costs are eventually passed on to customers, driving up the cost of goods and services throughout the economy. "Perhaps we can use the recently invested infrastructure funds to boost our supply chains."

According to Michael Lasko, "Our industry has witnessed some of the most dramatic increases in operating expenses, including fuel, labor, and equipment, over the past several years." Keep in mind that these costs are eventually passed on to customers, driving up the cost of goods and services across the economy. "Consider the exponential increase in expenses caused by idling in traffic."Maybe we can resurrect our supply networks with the recently allocated infrastructural funding."

According to ATRI, financing for congestion alleviation under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) could reach up to $350 billion. That will ultimately be helpful. (Today, with so many roads being built using funds provided by the legislation, it may make matters worse.)

The average yearly cost of congestion per truck, after dividing the $94.6 billion total cost of congestion across all registered tractor-trailers in the United States, is $6,824. This is equivalent, according to the analysis, to 3% of the average annual income generated by each vehicle in the freight business in 2021.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of November 2021, according to ATRI, allotted an estimated $1.2 trillion for infrastructure projects between 2022 and 2026. An estimated $350 billion was given to government transportation initiatives out of this total. According to ATRI, "This infrastructure funding is essential for mitigating the congestion costs detailed in this report."

"As per a report by the White House, over 45,000 bridges and one in every five miles of roadways in the United States are classified as being in poor condition." This type of inadequate infrastructure not only contributes to traffic problems but also often results in safety risks, costs for vehicle damage and repairs caused by the road, and restrictions on roads and bridges that negatively impact the supply chain.