ATRI data shines a light on improved truck transit times during the coronavirus pandemic

In times of prosperity or pandemic, goods, of all kinds, need to get to the people who need them. Given the ongoing coronavirus, or COVID-19, situation, this is particularly true in relating to the latter. And in order to get goods to people, more often than not, they are being moved via truck.

The role of trucking during the coronavirus pandemic cannot be overstated, and that really comes to light when looking at data issued today by the American Transportation Research Institute, more commonly known as ATRI, the trucking industry’s not for profit research organization

ATRI’s data highlights how trucks across the United States are moving on the nation’s highways, including its most congested ones, with transit times that are so atypical that one could be forgiven for questioning their legitimacy, no doubt. But with coronavirus essentially requiring Americans to stay at home in order to reduce the spread, or flatten the curve, of coronavirus, ATRI’s data provides a key takeaway, in that trucks are continuing to move—in many cases faster than normal—to respond to the demands placed on the industry by the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

ATRI President and COO Rebecca Brewster explained in the report that the organization’s real-time GPS data stems from more than one million trucks, which allows ATRI to analyze freight flows that include major U.S. top truck choke points. And, to date, in March, she described the current situation representing “un unprecedented level of truck movement,” with trucks not only continuing to move but at speeds easily topping normal traffic patterns.

Some of most notable changes in U.S. interstate transit times, due to the impact of coronavirus, include:

• at the intersection of I-85 and I-285 in Atlanta, known as Spaghetti Junction, afternoon rush hour truck speeds are typically less than 15 MPH, due to congestion, with truck speeds last week averaging 53 MPH;
• in New York, along I-495 in Queens, the afternoon rush hour typically sees average truck speeds of 16 MPH. Speeds have now more than doubled, averaging 38 MPH, still below the posted speed limit but certainly an improvement;
• in Los Angeles, at the intersection of I-710 and I-105, truck speeds during highly congested morning rush hours are normally less than 25 MPH between the hours of 6 and 8 a.m. Truck speeds are now averaging 53 MPH in the morning as Californians stay home but truck deliveries increase; and
• at the Byrne Interchange in Chicago, where I-290 intersects with I-90/I-94, morning truck speeds are now averaging 43 MPH, more than twice the typical morning rush hour speed of 20 MPH

ATRI presented various factors related to coronavirus that help to qualify these findings. The first one it pointed to is the dramatic reduction in traffic that enables trucks to operate at higher speeds, especially during rush hour periods. Another factor it cited was the continuous 24/7 truck operations, which lead to higher average truck speeds across most all hours of the day.

In an interview, ATRI’s Brewster said that ATRI’s findings speak to how fewer cars on the road are allowing trucks to do what they need to do, to get goods to people, but that comes with a caveat or two.

“In New York, speeds have doubled to more than 38 MPH, which is below the speed limit, and shows that trucks are still sharing the road with other cars,” she said. “Each week we go into this, we may see a different scenario and we may see fewer cars sharing the road with trucks. But, from a trucking industry standpoint, certainly fewer cars on the road is good news for us.”

What’s more, she observed that so much of the data ATRI has used in the past with this same dataset has looked at the impact of congestion on everything from drivers’ hours-of-service to the availability of truck parking or drivers’ ability to get to that truck parking because of congestion. And she added that ATRI has done a significant amount of work in the area of traffic incidents, which she said will be fewer and farther between, as there are fewer vehicles on the road and sharing the road with commercial vehicles.

If there was a silver lining in this situation, Brewster said that fewer vehicles on the road could clearly be one, in that roads are opening up and allowing the trucking industry to do what is needed to serve America’s needs during this very difficult time. 

When asked how ATRI’s data reconciles with the recent emergency declaration issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to issue a national emergency declaration to provide motor carrier hours-of-service (HOS) regulatory relief in response to the coronavirus outbreak, she said one major benefit is that drivers are not burning hours sitting in traffic and subsequently becoming more fatigued and stressed because of congestion.

“You could even argue that this situation has a wellness benefit for drivers, in that we are reducing stresses that they typically encounter when they drive in a regular situation [in a congested city],” she said. “It is allowing truck drivers to do what they do best and that is delivering freight to America. And it is also allowing drivers to better plan deliveries, as there are not these unexpected delays that come from unexpected things like traffic incidents because there are fewer cars. It allows the supply chain to operate more efficiently, as we hope it would do under normal situations, but traffic congestion and traffic incidents and weather and other incidents don’t always allow that.”

ATRI’s data is helpful on many fronts, especially during these trying, confusing, and challenging times, to be sure. It also puts into perspective how vital freight movement is to keep the country well-stocked at stores, at a time when some certainty and positivity is needed. There are likely to be some stock outs here and there, but it could clearly be worse, make no mistake. Newsroom Notes sends out a big thank you and appreciation to our nation’s truck drivers.