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A recent report released by TRIP, a Washington, D.C.,-based national transportation research nonprofit, examines the condition and reliability of the nation’s supply chain and the critical role of the U.S. freight transportation network in the U.S. economy.
Findings in the report, The U.S. Freight Network’s Critical Role in the Supply Chain, include:
- U.S. vehicle miles of travel (VMT) rebounded to 1.8 percent below September 2019 levels by September 2021. In 13 states, VMT has now surpassed pre-pandemic rates.
- Passenger VMT dropped by as much as 40 percent during the pandemic, but freight travel movement decreased only 10 percent by April 2020. By September 2021, for-hire trucking, freight railroad services, inland waterway traffic, pipeline movements and air freight rebounded to within two percent of September 2019.
- From 2000 to 2019, traffic congestion resulted in a 77 percent increase in traffic delays for commercial trucks, according to data from the Texas Transportation Institute.
- The nation’s 10 least reliable major freight highway corridors had travel times 50 percent longer on heavy travel days, compared with normal days.
- Four percent of pavement on the National Highway Freight Network is rated in poor condition, 19 percent in fair condition and the remaining in good condition.