Understanding and Modeling the Impacts of COVID-19 on Freight Trucking Activity

ABSTRACT

Restrictions on travel and in-person commercial activities in many countries (e.g., the United States, China, European countries, etc.) due to the global outbreak and rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have severely impacted the global supply chain and subsequently affected freight transportation and logistics. This chapter summarizes the findings from the analysis of truck axle and weight data from existing highway detector infrastructure to investigate the impacts of COVID-19 on freight trucking activity. Three aspects of COVID-19 truck impacts were explored drayage, long and short-haul movements, and payload characteristics. This analysis revealed disparate impacts of this pandemic on freight trucking activity because of local and foreign policies, supply chain bottlenecks, and the dynamic changes in consumer behavior. Due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19, it is not yet possible to distinguish between transient and long-term impacts on freight trucking activity. Nonetheless, a future expansion of the study area and the incorporation of other complementary data sources may provide further insights into the pandemic’s impacts on freight movement. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.