According to a new study by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), traffic congestion added $108.8 billion in costs to the trucking industry in 2022.
The Cost of Congestion study said the highway performance measurement is a new record for costs due to traffic congestion across the country. Using a variety of data sources, including its truck GPS database, ATRI calculated the impact of trucking delays on major roadways. The total hours of congestion decreased slightly the study found, but the cost of operating a truck increased at a much greater rate, leading to the overall cost of congestion increasing by 15 percent. Those delays cost each registered combination truck about $7,600, officials with ATRI said. The study found the level of delay is equivalent to more than 430,000 commercial truck drivers sitting idle for one work year.
ATRI’s analysis also documented state and metropolitan delays and how they impact costs. The top 10 states for delays were Texas, with $9 billion in costs associated with delays, followed by California ($8.77 billion) and Florida ($8.44 billion). The top 10 states accounted for more than half of the congestion costs nationwide, the study found. The metropolitan areas with the highest congestion costs included New York City ($6.6 billion), Miami ($3.2 billion), and Chicago ($3.14 billion).
Congestion led to the trucking industry wasting more than 6.4 billion gallons of diesel fuel in 2022, for an additional fuel cost of $32.1 billion.
“With rising costs putting pressure on businesses and consumers alike, minimizing delays caused by congestion is more important than ever,” Frank Granieri, A. Duie Pyle COO of Supply Chain Solutions, said. “Addressing these challenges requires a shared commitment to modernize our infrastructure and strengthen the backbone of our economy: resilient and efficient supply chains.”