According to the latest Cost of Congestion study published by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), traffic congestion on U.S. highways added $108.8 billion in costs to the trucking industry in 2022. This marks a new record-high national congestion cost.
The total hours of congestion decreased slightly in 2022 from record 2021 highs due to a softening freight market, but the cost of operating a truck during this period increased at a much greater rate. As a result, the overall cost of congestion increased by 15% year-over-year.
This level of delay is equivalent to more than 430,000 commercial truck drivers sitting idle for one work year and an average cost of $7,588 for every registered combination truck.
In addition to the national findings, ATRI’s analysis also documented state and metropolitan delays and related cost impacts. The top 10 states each experienced costs of more than $8 billion, led by Texas ($9.17B), California ($8.77B), and Florida ($8.44B).Combined, the top 10 states ultimately account for more than half (52%) of trucking’s congestion costs nationwide.
Additionally, the metropolitan areas with the highest congestion costs included New York City ($6.68B), Miami ($3.20B), and Chicago ($3.14B).
The report also found that the trucking industry wasted over 6.4 billion gallons of diesel fuel in 2022 due to congestion, resulting in additional fuel costs of $32.1 billion.
“With rising costs putting pressure on businesses and consumers alike, minimizing delays caused by congestion is more important than ever,” said Frank Granieri, A. Duie Pyle COO of Supply Chain Solutions, in a statement. “Addressing these challenges requires a shared commitment to modernize our infrastructure and strengthen the backbone of our economy: resilient and efficient supply chains.”
