Congestion costs trucking more than $100 billion in 2022

Traffic congestion comes at a cost of more than $100 billion to the trucking industry and thousands of dollars annually to individual truck drivers.

That was the key finding of the American Transportation Research Institute’s latest “Cost of Congestion to the Trucking Industry” study. Using the latest data available, the report reveals that in 2022, traffic congestion hit truckers’ wallets harder than ever before as the nation was still reeling from the effects of the pandemic.

In 2022, traffic congestion cost the trucking industry nearly $109 billion, a 15% increase from the previous year and up 37% from 2019. From 2016 through 2020, those costs hovered around $80 billion before spiking in 2021 in the wake of the pandemic.

Per truck, traffic congestion is costing fleets and owner-operators thousands of dollars each year. ATRI estimates that congestion costs $7,588 per truck, which is about 3% of the average annual per-truck revenue.

An increase in the cost of traffic congestion comes despite a 5% decrease in total hours spent in traffic delays nationwide. Hours of congestion jumped in 2021 as traffic patterns began to return to pre-pandemic levels and freight demand soared. In 2022, congestion began to stabilize to relatively normal levels as the freight market softened.

ATRI points to trucking operational costs as the reason for the increase in traffic congestion costs despite less time being spent in traffic.

The study looked at three metrics to determine the cost of congestion: average speeds in bottlenecks, truck vehicle miles traveled and operational costs.

At more than 52 mph, average speeds were up slightly from 2021 and way up compared to 2019. Meanwhile, truck vehicle miles traveled stabilized after spiking in 2021. Higher speeds, stable mileage and fewer hours in traffic should lead to lower congestion costs. However, external factors increased total costs.

According to ATRI, operational costs per truck skyrocketed in 2022 to $90.78 per hour, a 22% increase from 2021 and up 36% compared to 2019. ATRI attributes that increase to higher prices for fuel, trucks and driver wages. Even with trucks spending fewer hours in traffic, the spike in hourly costs of trucking operations made that time waiting in traffic more expensive.

Although traffic congestion is costing the industry billions of dollars, everyone is paying for it.

An inefficient interstate system drives up the costs of shipping, which trickles down to the consumer.

“When traffic volumes along critical freight corridors exceed highway capacity, however, the ensuing congestion impedes freight movement and creates inflationary increases in the cost of goods and services,” ATRI’s report states. LL