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Freight Mobility Trends Report 2019

SECTION 3: FREIGHT-SPECIFIC LOCATIONS

Though the indicators are important at the national level to understand nationwide position and trends, it is also important to consider performance at different types of locations. This section depicts performance at different geographic levels. These levels include:

  • Major freight highway bottlenecks.
  • Freight Significant Corridors.
  • Key freight facilities:
    • Airports.
    • Rail intermodal facilities.
    • Ports.
    • Border areas.
    • Border crossings.

Major Freight Highway Bottlenecks and Congested Corridors

Table 17 lists the 2019 top Interstate bottlenecks and congested corridors in the United States based on truck hours of delay per mile for 2019. Delay per mile (DPM) was calculated for each Interstate segment using the National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS) travel time data in the Freight Mobility Trends (FMT) tool. These locations were then compared with the bottlenecks identified by States in their 2019 Baseline Performance Reports. The analysis was completed for 2017 and 2018 to track trends from year to year, and the 2018 ranking is also included in the table. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will conduct this analysis on an annual basis to update the list, track trends, and allow dialog with States on methods to address congestion at major bottlenecks. This will allow FHWA to identify successful transportation management techniques that can be shared with other States.

Table 17 lists the route, urban area, and State ordered by the 2019 truck hours of delay per mile. Information is provided for directional Annual Average Daily Truck Traffic (AADTT), annual truck hours of delay per mile, and total corridor congestion cost per year. Annual truck hours of delay per mile is determined at the most congested segment of the corridor. The generalized bottleneck location/congested corridor is estimated based on a review of corridor congestion scans in the NPMRDS. For major congested corridors, this may include multiple contiguous bottlenecks along the corridor. Total corridor congestion cost is calculated for the full extent of delay along the congested corridor, which may include multiple segments, as a function of both the time and fuel used while the truck is in congested traffic, factoring costs of personnel, commercial vehicle operation, and wasted fuel.

Appendix B provides detailed information on bottlenecks.

Table 17. Major Interstate freight highway bottlenecks and congested corridors based on truck hours of delay per mile from the 2019 National Performance Management Research Data Set.
2019 Rank 2018 Rank Road Urban Area State Generalized Bottleneck Location/ Congested Corridor AADT (Trucks) DPM (Truck Hours) Total Corridor Congestion Cost ($)
1 1 I-95/ I-295 New York NY/NJ I-278/I-678 to NJ side of GW Bridge/SR-4 9,555 263,116 76,000,000
2 3 I-90/ I-94 Chicago IL I-94 N to I-55 8,003 140,942 86,900,000
3 4 I-605 Los Angeles CA I-5 to SR-60 10,963 139,777 62,500,000
4 2 I-35 Austin TX Airport Blvd. to Stassney Ln. 11,074 111,359 109,900,000
5 6 I-610 Houston TX I-69 to I-10 7,379 104,009 60,800,000
6 5 I-678 New York NY I-495 to Belt Pkwy. and I-295/I-95 to south end Bronx-Whitestone Bridge 6,510 100,237 40,000,000
7 11 I-405 Los Angeles CA I-105 to SR-42 Manchester Blvd. 12,139 95,686 147,800,000
8 7 I-290 Chicago IL I-90/I-94 to I-290 8,726 94,778 59,700,000
9 8 I-69/ US 59 Houston TX Buffalo Speedway to I-45 6,831 89,185 57,800,000
10 12 I-278 New York NY I-95/I-678 to Grand Central Pkwy. and SR 27 Prospect Expy. to SR-29 Queens Blvd. 6,607 88,339 147,000,000
11 9 I-24 Nashville TN US-41 to SR-155 12,775 86,920 52,200,000
12 10 I-10 Los Angeles CA 20th St. to I-5 and at I-605 7,036 86,745 164,100,000
13 15 I-710 Los Angeles CA Cesar Chavez Ave. to Atlantic Blvd. 6,833 85,730 47,500,000
14 23 I-45 Houston TX US-90 to I-69 7,184 84,471 58,800,000
15 17 I-680 San Francisco CA SR-262 to SR-238 6,406 81,240 14,000,000
16 25 I-495 New York NY Little Neck Pkwy. to Queens Midtown Tunnel 8,988 70,916 112,400,000
17 21 I-5 Seattle WA I-90 to 85th St. and SR 18 to Port of Tacoma Rd. 6,876 69,732 62,500,000
18 14 I-5 Los Angeles CA SR-134 Ventura Fwy. to I-605 7,097 68,560 123,200,000
19 20 I-76 Philadelphia PA University Ave. to US-1 4,605 67,019 37,500,000
20 19 I-87 New York NY I-278 to 230th St. 4,900 64,891 25,100,000
21 27 I-105 Los Angeles CA I-405 to Long Beach Blvd. 7,397 64,807 56,800,000
22 22 I-75 I-85 Atlanta GA I-20 to I-75/I-85 split 7,355 63,432 19,300,000
23 34 I-10 New Orleans LA I-610 to Pontchartrain Expy. 14,179 61,114 73,000,000
24 73 I-10 Lake Charles LA At I-210 14,179 61,114 31,500,000
25 26 I-210 Los Angeles CA SR-39/164 Azusa Ave. to SR-19 Rosemead Blvd. 10,007 60,414 67,600,000
26 18 I-10 Baton Rouge LA I-110 to SR-1 10,718 57,724 33,800,000
27 32 I-25 Denver CO I-70 to University Blvd. 7,030 55,696 54,200,000
28 29 I-5 Portland OR Columbia River to Terwilliger Blvd. 7,988 55,154 53,100,000
29 31 I-55 Chicago IL I-94 to SR-171 7,376 53,860 58,300,000
30 37 I-285 Atlanta GA East/SR-400 to US-78 and West/I-20 to Northside Dr. 11,855 53,821 137,500,000
31 46 I-495 Washington MD/ VA I-66 (VA) to I-95 (MD) 9,544 53,507 93,900,000
32 33 I-70 Denver CO I-25 to I-270 5,973 53,461 26,700,000
33 55 I-30 Little Rock AR At I-630 19,820 51,924 11,700,000
34 35 I-80 San Francisco CA US-101 to Bay Bridge; and at I-580 2,737 51,110 35,200,000
35 39 I-10 Houston TX I-69 to I-45 9,085 50,107 53,700,000
36 40 I-270 Denver CO I-25 to I-70 5,364 50,104 14,500,000
37 47 I-95 Washington VA SR-123 to SR-286 8,092 49,241 49,800,000
38 24 I-110/ CA-110 Los Angeles CA I-10 to SR-42 Stauson Ave. 3,890 48,762 23,100,000
39 36 I-10 Phoenix AZ At I-17 from 51st Ave. to SR-143 11,718 48,254 91,200,000
40 45 I-15 Riverside CA At SR-91 5,267 48,175 18,600,000
41 30 I-15 Salt Lake City UT At I-215 (SR-173 to SR 48) 32,835 47,435 62,139,000
42 44 I-15 Los Angeles CA At I-10 9,099 47,170 12,700,000
43 59 I-80/ I-94 Chicago IL I-294 to I-94 20,900 46,615 9,100,000
44 50 I-695 Baltimore MD I-95 to I-795 10,497 46,428 45,400,000
45 57 I-71/ I-75 Cincinnati KY/ OH I-275 to Western Hills 15,297 44,603 18,300,000
46 81 I-90 Chicago IL I-90/94 to I-294 3,595 43,345 32,300,000
47 51 I-64 St. Louis MO Market St. to I-70 (over Mississippi River) 9,240 42,771 9,100,000
48 28 I-294 Chicago IL At I-290 and at I-90 9,449 42,295 40,900,000
49 61 I-405 Seattle WA I-90 to SR-520 4,796 40,760 12,800,000
50 127 I-75 Chattanooga TN At I-24 11,798 40,747 6,000,000
51 65 I-676 Philadelphia PA I-76 to I-95 3,695 40,448 7,300,000
52 56 I-238 San Francisco CA I-880 to I-580 9,026 40,088 4,600,000
53 64 I-35 San Antonio TX At I-10 13,515 39,338 24,300,000
54 53 I-494 Minneapolis MN SR-77 to W Bush Lake Rd. 6,142 38,514 9,000,000
55 58 I-85 Atlanta GA I-75 to SR 13/141 and I 285 to SR-378 8,539 37,663 35,700,000
56 48 I-35E Dallas TX I-30 to Market Center Blvd. 7,786 37,601 24,900,000
57 54 I-635 Dallas TX I-35 to SR-78 10,114 37,059 61,400,000
58 42 I-95 Baltimore MD I-395 to I-895 9,481 36,203 34,900,000
59 79 I-95 Philadelphia PA At I-676 5,085 35,789 11,900,000
60 67 I-270 St. Louis MO I-64 to SR 100 17,600 35,500 28,200,000
61 63 I-215 Riverside CA I-10 to SR-80 7,241 35,057 35,300,000
62 38 I-75 Cincinnati OH SR-562 to SR-126 11,175 34,492 29,500,000
63 52 I-94 Chicago IL I-90/94 to US-14 8,000 33,752 12,900,000
64 74 I-880 San Francisco CA At I-980 and at US 101 6,035 32,983 55,800,000
65 70 I-24 Chattanooga TN I-75 to US-41 11,133 32,057 18,500,000
66 100 I-40 Albuquerque NM At I-25 14,443 31,823 9,700,000
67 72 I-805 San Diego CA SR-52 to SR-163 6,210 31,791 13,900,000
68 60 I-30 Dallas TX I-35 to Grand Ave. 9,311 31,390 14,300,000
69 84 I-376 Pittsburgh PA Fort Pitt Bridge to Squirrel Hill 2,591 31,346 2,800,000
70 78 I-10 Riverside CA At I-215 11,505 31,196 17,300,000
71 75 I-84 Hartford CT SR-2 to Prospect Ave. 5,792 29,849 7,700,000
72 73 I-405 Portland OR I-5 to US-26 4,297 29,467 1,200,000
73 86 I-95 Wilmington DE At I-295/I-495 12,139 28,402 2,700,000
74 43 I-94 Minneapolis MN SR-280 to Hennepin Ave. 4,350 28,016 4,400,000
75 80 I-205 Portland OR At I-84 5,290 27,951 7,100,000
76 82 I-95 Fredericksburg VA US-17 to Russell Rd. 9,889 27,933 20,000,000
77 96 I-93 Boston MA At I-90 and at SR-3 4,381 27,386 19,600,000
78 85 I-95 Bridgeport CT At US-1 in Fairfield and at US-1 in Stamford 5,893 27,289 51,000,000
79 71 I-40 Nashville TN I-24 to I-65 5,379 27,148 4,100,000
80 87 I-95 New Haven CT I-91 to SR-10 6,047 26,805 2,700,000
81 94 I-78 New York NJ US-22 to SR-440 6,083 26,033 6,700,000
82 98 I 35W Dallas TX At I-30 5,426 24,953 11,900,000
83 68 I-15 Ogden UT SR-232 to SR-273 10,303 24,114 5,995,000
84 88 I-75 Atlanta GA I-85 to Moores Mill Rd. 8,403 23,791 6,300,000
85 I-65 Indianapolis IN I-70 N to Fall Creek Blvd. 6,901 23,639 1,500,000
86 140 I-20/ I-59 Birmingham AL At I-65 7,435 23,124 2,500,000
87 119 I-270 Washington MD At I-495 6,801 22,345 26,400,000
88 16 I-15 Las Vegas NV I-515 to Tropicana Ave. 6,661 22,146 17,000,000
89 111 I-280 New York NJ Garden State Pkwy. to SR-21 4,450 22,029 2,900,000
90 94 I-95 Miami FL Florida Turnpike to I-395 4,745 21,894 29,400,000
91 97 I-4 Tampa FL At I-275 6,558 21,620 6,900,000
92 110 I-670 Kansas City MO At I-70 4,358 21,163 1,200,000
93 89 I-395 Washington DC/VA US-50 to VA-236 5,204 21,150 700,000
94 112 I-580 Livermore CA I-205 to First St. 7,153 20,960 8,300,000
95 109 I-95 Washington MD I-495 to SR-200 10,661 20,807 6,300,000
96 124 I-95 Boston MA SR-38 to I-93 4,057 20,726 8,600,000
97 103 I-84 Portland OR At I-5 4,543 20,359 3,400,000
98 90 I-65 Nashville TN I-40 to I-440 10,952 20,093 13,500,000
99 114 I-40 Knoxville TN I-75/I-640 to I-275 8,346 20,059 2,500,000
100 115 I-71 Columbus OH At I-670 7,597 19,511 7,300,000

Key: annual average daily traffic (AADT), delay per mile (DPM)

Figure 39 shows the top Interstate bottlenecks in the United States based on freight mobility indicators of annual truck hours of delay per mile from 2019. While the top 100 bottlenecks and congested corridors only make up a little more than one percent of the Interstate System, these locations account for 21 percent of total Interstate System truck delay.

This analysis uses delay per mile for assessing bottlenecks to allow for comparison over the entire Interstate system across all States. Individual State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPOs) use a range of bottleneck identification methods based on their local traffic characteristics, infrastructure constraints, and impediments to efficient freight movement. A range of methods are used that consider congestion, delay, reliability, and truck-specific restrictions.

U.S. map of interstates and the top 100 freight bottlenecks based on truck hours of delay per mile. Most bottlenecks occur on the I-95 corridor from Washington, DC, to Boston; Texas; and California with others in Washington and the Chicago area.

Source: FHWA
Figure 39. Map. Major highway freight bottlenecks in 2019.

Freight Significant Corridors

FHWA has been tracking a set of nationally significant Interstate freight corridors with a Buffer Index (BI) measurement since 2012. To continue this effort, the FMT includes these corridors and five additional corridors important for freight. Figure 40 shows the corridors, and figure 41 shows the corridors with an indication of Truck Vehicle Miles Traveled (TVMT). The TVMT and number of segments per corridor is detailed in table 18.

As a consideration of additional time that drivers need to add to their trip to account for delay and unreliability, the BIs for these corridors range from lower index results for corridors—such as I-10 from Los Angeles, CA, to Tucson, AZ, and I-5/CA 99 from Sacramento, CA, to Los Angeles, CA—to higher BI results on corridors—such as I-45 from Dallas, TX, to Galveston, TX, and I-95 in the Northeast and I-94 from Chicago, IL, to Milwaukee, WI.

U.S. map of 30 nationally significant interstate freight corridors.

Source: FHWA
Figure 40. Map. Freight-significant corridors.

U.S. map of the 30 nationally significant interstate freight corridors ranked by daily truck VMT showing the I-65/I-24 Chattanooga to Nashville to Chicago corridor having the most VMT.

Source: FHWA
Figure 41. Map. Freight-significant corridors with truck vehicle miles of travel detail.

Table 18. Freight significant corridor average daily truck vehicle miles traveled (TVMT) (in miles) and number of traffic message channel (TMC) segments from the National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS) per corridor.
Corridor Average Daily Truck VMT (miles) Number of Traffic Message Channel Segments from the NPMRDS Data
I-5/CA 99: Sacramento to Los Angeles 5,533 911
I-5: Medford, OR to Seattle 4,928 676
I-10: Los Angeles to Tucson 6,156 1,020
I-10: Pensacola to I-75 3,063 161
I-10: San Antonio to New Orleans 7,556 962
I-15: Los Angeles to Salt Lake City 5,673 704
I-20: Dallas to Atlanta 5,803 1,147
I-30: Little Rock to Dallas 7,103 739
I-35: Laredo to Oklahoma City 6,189 1,565
I-40: Knoxville to Little Rock 6,964 645
I-40: Oklahoma City to Flagstaff 3,800 1,092
I-40: Raleigh to Asheville 2,489 317
I-45: Dallas to Galveston 5,623 652
I-55/I-39/I-94: St. Louis to Minneapolis 4,707 725
I-57/I-74: I-24 (IL) to I-55 (IL) 3,701 246
I-65/I-24: Chattanooga to Nashville to Chicago 7,706 771
I-70: Kansas City to Columbus 6,532 935
I-71: Louisville to Cleveland 5,565 442
I-75: Lexington to Detroit 7,590 712
I-75: Tampa to Knoxville 6,455 875
I-78/I-76: New York to Pittsburgh 2,861 489
I-80: Chicago to I-76 (CO/NE border) 4,699 807
I-80: Cleveland to Chicago 4,622 80
I-80: New York to Cleveland 5,364 523
I-81: Harrisburg to I-40 (Knoxville) 6,002 583
I-84: Boise to I-86 3,034 139
I-94: Chicago to Detroit 5,118 610
I-94: Chicago to Milwaukee 7,449 414
I-95: Miami to I-26 (SC) 4,415 757
I-95: Richmond to New Haven 6,483 1,180

Table 19 provides the BI for the corridors using an area graph. I-94 from Chicago, IL, to Milwaukee, WI, and I-95 from Richmond, VA, to New Haven, CT, have the highest BI results. Almost all corridors appear to worsen in the fourth quarter of 2019. This is the opposite of national-level findings that show improvements for this quarter.

Table 19. BI Percent for freight significant corridors by quarter.
Corridor 2017
Q1
2017
Q2
2017
Q3
2017
Q4
2018
Q1
2018
Q2
2018
Q3
2018
Q4
2019
Q1
2019
Q2
2019
Q3
2019
Q4
I-5/CA 99: Sacramento Los Angeles 11 10 12 12 11 10 10 13 12 11 11 13
I-5: Medford, OR to Seattle 16 16 17 17 15 16 16 19 16 17 19 20
I-10: Los Angeles to Tucson 13 12 12 15 14 13 13 16 14 13 14 16
I-10: Pensacola to I-75 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 5 6 5 5 7
I-10: San Antonio to New Orleans 13 13 16 15 17 15 14 16 17 16 16 17
I-15: Los Angeles to Salt Lake City 7 5 5 6 6 6 5 7 8 7 7 11
I-20: Dallas to Atlanta 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 7 5 6 6 7
I-30: Little Rock to Dallas 11 12 10 13 13 12 11 14 13 13 13 15
I-35: Laredo to Oklahoma City 15 15 13 15 15 14 13 18 17 18 16 20
I-40: Knoxville to Little Rock 6 7 7 8 10 9 7 9 8 9 8 9
I-40: Oklahoma City to Flagstaff 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 5 5 3 3 6
I-40: Raleigh to Asheville 6 9 9 10 7 11 7 10 7 12 13 15
I-45: Dallas to Galveston 14 13 15 15 15 15 14 16 15 14 15 15
I-55/I-39/I-94: St. Louis to Minneapolis 4 4 4 4 6 5 5 6 9 6 6 8
I-57/I-74: I-24 (IL) to I-55 (IL) 2 8 6 5 3 3 2 3 4 4 3 5
I-65/I-24: Chattanooga to Nashville to Chicago 8 9 9 10 11 10 10 12 11 10 11 12
I-70: Kansas City to Columbus 4 6 6 5 6 5 5 6 6 6 7 8
I-71: Louisville to Cleveland 9 11 11 10 12 11 12 14 11 12 13 13
I-75: Lexington to Detroit 9 11 11 11 13 12 11 13 11 13 14 15
I-75: Tampa to Knoxville 7 8 11 9 8 9 7 11 9 9 9 10
I-78/I-76: New York to Pittsburgh 8 9 9 8 9 8 9 11 9 8 9 10
I-80: Chicago to I-76 (CO/ NE border) 4 3 3 3 6 3 3 5 9 5 5 6
I-80: Cleveland to Chicago 4 5 4 5 8 3 2 4 6 3 2 4
I-80: New York to Cleveland 7 6 8 7 9 8 9 9 8 9 9 9
I-81: Harrisburg to I-40 (Knoxville) 3 6 6 6 5 7 7 10 5 7 7 6
I-84: Boise to I-86 14 2 3 3 4 3 3 4 5 3 4 7
I-94: Chicago to Detroit 14 18 14 16 16 15 13 14 18 16 15 17
I-95: Miami to I-26 (SC) 11 9 12 12 12 10 9 12 12 10 12 13
I-95: Richmond to New Haven 27 33 30 34 29 34 31 36 28 36 33 37
I-94: Chicago to Milwaukee 37 51 46 45 42 46 51 44 35 43 40 36

To assess the corridors with a different lens, Table 20 shows the same corridors measured with the TRI. The results are similar to those for the corridors of I-94 from Chicago, IL, to Milwaukee, WI, and I 95 from Richmond, VA, to New Haven, CT, but are less reliable than the others. However, the fluctuation from quarter to quarter appears less pronounced.

Table 20. Truck Reliability Index for freight significant corridors by quarter.
Corridor 2017
Q1
2017
Q2
2017
Q3
2017
Q4
2018
Q1
2018
Q2
2018
Q3
2018
Q4
2019
Q1
2019
Q2
2019
Q3
2019
Q4
I-5/CA 99: Sacramento to Los Angeles 1.12 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.12 1.11 1.11 1.13 1.13 1.12 1.12 1.12
I-5: Medford, OR to Seattle 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.20 1.17 1.19 1.19 1.21 1.18 1.19 1.21 1.20
I-10: Los Angeles to Tucson 1.15 1.14 1.15 1.18 1.16 1.15 1.15 1.18 1.17 1.15 1.16 1.19
I-10: Pensacola to I-75 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.02 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.04 1.06 1.05 1.04 1.03
I-10: San Antonio to New Orleans 1.16 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.18 1.16 1.18 1.19 1.18 1.18 1.18
I-15: Los Angeles to Salt Lake City 1.07 1.06 1.06 1.06 1.06 1.07 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.07 1.07 1.09
I-20: Dallas to Atlanta 1.05 1.05 1.06 1.06 1.06 1.06 1.06 1.07 1.05 1.06 1.06 1.05
I-30: Little Rock to Dallas 1.14 1.14 1.12 1.15 1.16 1.15 1.13 1.16 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.17
I-35: Laredo to Oklahoma City 1.17 1.18 1.15 1.17 1.18 1.16 1.16 1.21 1.19 1.20 1.18 1.21
I-40: Knoxville to Little Rock 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.09 1.12 1.10 1.08 1.10 1.09 1.10 1.09 1.11
I-40: Oklahoma City to Flagstaff 1.04 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.03 1.02 1.02 1.06 1.05 1.03 1.03 1.05
I-40: Raleigh to Asheville 1.06 1.10 1.10 1.11 1.07 1.12 1.07 1.10 1.07 1.12 1.13 1.11
I-45: Dallas to Galveston 1.16 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.16 1.17 1.15 1.17 1.15 1.16 1.16 1.14
I-55/I-39/I-94: St. Louis to Minneapolis 1.05 1.05 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.05 1.06 1.06 1.10 1.07 1.05 1.06
I-57/I-74: I-24 (IL) to I-55 (IL) 1.02 1.09 1.07 1.05 1.04 1.03 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.04 1.03 1.04
I-65/I-24: Chattanooga to Nashville to Chicago 1.10 1.11 1.11 1.12 1.14 1.12 1.10 1.13 1.12 1.11 1.12 1.13
I-70: Kansas City to Columbus 1.05 1.07 1.07 1.06 1.07 1.06 1.06 1.07 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09
I-71: Louisville to Cleveland 1.10 1.13 1.14 1.12 1.14 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.12 1.14 1.15 1.14
I-75: Lexington to Detroit 1.10 1.11 1.11 1.11 1.13 1.13 1.11 1.15 1.12 1.14 1.15 1.15
I-75: Tampa to Knoxville 1.09 1.10 1.13 1.11 1.10 1.10 1.08 1.12 1.11 1.11 1.08 1.10
I-78/I-76: New York to Pittsburgh 1.09 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.11 1.09 1.11 1.13 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.11
I-80: Chicago to I-76 (CO/ NE border) 1.04 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.08 1.04 1.04 1.04 1.09 1.05 1.05 1.05
I-80: Cleveland to Chicago 1.05 1.05 1.04 1.05 1.10 1.03 1.02 1.04 1.07 1.03 1.02 1.04
I-80: New York to Cleveland 1.09 1.07 1.10 1.09 1.11 1.10 1.11 1.09 1.08 1.10 1.09 1.09
I-81: Harrisburg to I-40 (Knoxville) 1.04 1.08 1.08 1.07 1.06 1.08 1.09 1.11 1.06 1.08 1.07 1.06
I-84: Boise to I-86 1.15 1.02 1.04 1.03 1.04 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.05 1.03 1.03 1.04
I-94: Chicago to Detroit 1.16 1.22 1.17 1.19 1.19 1.18 1.16 1.16 1.20 1.18 1.15 1.16
I-95: Miami to I-26 (SC) 1.12 1.10 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.12 1.10 1.13 1.13 1.11 1.12 1.12
I-95: Richmond to New Haven 1.31 1.38 1.35 1.40 1.34 1.39 1.36 1.43 1.32 1.41 1.37 1.43
I-94: Chicago to Milwaukee 1.47 1.65 1.58 1.56 1.52 1.58 1.62 1.54 1.40 1.52 1.49 1.41

Freight Facility Locations

This section focuses on the performance of the National Highway System (NHS) surrounding airports, rail intermodal facilities, ports, and borders. The focus is not on the mobility of the actual facilities but the NHS roadways surrounding the facilities. Mobility trends are shown first by comparing the facilities and then are detailed for the specific type of facility.

By evaluating the performance of the highways accessing the freight facilities in terms of delay per mile, border areas have the lowest delay, while airports, ports, and rail intermodal facilities experience much higher delay (figure 42).

Bar chart of delay per mile for different freight facility types in 2019 showing that airports have the highest delay per mile and border areas showing the lowest delay per mile.

Source: FHWA
Figure 42. Chart. Delay per mile for access to freight facilities in 2019.

Figure 43 shows the Travel Time Index (TTI), Planning Time Index (PTI), and Truck Reliability Index (TRI) for the areas surrounding airports, border areas, rail intermodal facilities, and ports. Ports and airports have the highest PTI, closely followed by border areas. Airports, ports, and border areas are higher on the three indicators than rail intermodal facilities. This may be due in part to some rail intermodal facilities being located outside major urban areas, whereas ports and airports in the FMT are largely in urban areas with urban roadways. Border areas may reflect the delays as a result of border crossing and related traffic at those locations.

Overall, NHS routes accessing ports and airports exhibit higher challenges for reliability, mobility, and delay than border areas and intermodal facilities. This may be the result of the high level of activities at these locations and the constant streams of truck traffic. Airport access may also be impacted by the challenges of mixed passenger and freight traffic.

Multiple bar chart comparison of performance measures in 2019 across freight facility types showing intermodal facilities having a significantly lower TTI, PTI, and TRI compared to the other three.

Source: FHWA
Figure 43. Chart. Average travel time index, planning time index, and truck reliability index for access to freight facilities in 2019.

Airports

Table 21 shows the performance of NHS routes around airports included in the FMT. Appendix A provides airport code definitions. No data for Hawaii airports are available for 2019.

Table 21. The 10 highest airport area results for the Freight Mobility Trends performance indicators in 2019.
Note: Airport areas highest in most of the indicators are colored orange and have bold font.
Airport DPM
(Hours/ Mile)
Airport Total Delay
(Annual Truck Hours)
Airport TTI Airport PTI Airport TRI Airport BI
Percent
ONT 21,677 MIA 1,916,376 JFK 1.71 LAX 3.89 PHX 2.03 LAX 118
PHX 20,075 ORD 1,849,221 LAX 1.67 JFK 3.75 MIA 1.74 MIA 112
LAX 14,019 ONT 1,568,160 MIA 1.65 MIA 3.6 SEA 1.56 PHX 112
JFK 12,955 JFK 1,482,231 ANC 1.45 PHX 2.99 LAX 1.54 JFK 111
MIA 12,070 LAX 1,187,584 EWR 1.36 IAH 2.82 OAK 1.52 IAH 83
ORD 11,895 EWR 1,157,682 IAH 1.34 ANC 2.46 ONT 1.46 OAK 80
OAK 8,736 PHX 1,134,501 PHX 1.34 OAK 2.45 ORD 1.41 SEA 70
ATL 8,735 ATL 960,651 OAK 1.32 EWR 2.39 JFK 1.41 EWR 67
SEA 6,085 SEA 720,996 ORD 1.30 SEA 2.22 ANC 1.40 ONT 67
MEM 5,767 OAK 529,033 SEA 1.26 SEA 1.26 EWR 1.39 ANC 65

Key: delay per mile (DPM), travel time index (TTI), planning time index (PTI), truck reliability index (TRI), buffer index (BI). airports: Memphis International (MEM); Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC); Louisville International–Standiford Field (SDF); Miami International (MIA); Indianapolis International (IND); Chicago O’Hare International (ORD); Los Angeles International (LAX); John F. Kennedy International (JFK); Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG); Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW); Newark Liberty International (EWR); Metropolitan Oakland International (OAK); Ontario International (ONT); Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL); Honolulu International (HNL); Philadelphia International (PHL); George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (IAH); Phoenix Sky International (PHX); Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA); Denver International (DEN)

Airports such as Los Angeles, CA (LAX), New York/Kennedy (JFK), Miami, FL (MIA), Phoenix, AZ (PHX), Oakland, CA (OAK), and Seattle, WA (SEA), are in the highest 10 for all indicators for surrounding highways accessing the airport.

Figure 44 shows the delay magnitude or total delay quarterly for highways accessing the airports in order from lowest to highest delay per mile. The airports with high delay per mile follow the same trend as national delay per mile results, with an increase in the second quarter each year and downturn in the fourth quarter of 2019. This pattern is observed in most of the airports except those with the lowest delay per mile such as Philadelphia (PHL), Denver (DEN), and Anchorage (ANC).

Table 22 provides the delay per mile by quarter for each airport area as shown in figure 44.

Stacked area chart of total airport access delay stratified by airport showing Ontario, Phoenix, LAX, and JFK having the most consistent lack of access between 2017 and 2019.

Source: FHWA
Key for Airports: Memphis International (MEM); Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC); Louisville International–Standiford Field (SDF); Miami International (MIA); Indianapolis International (IND); Chicago O’Hare International (ORD); Los Angeles International (LAX); John F. Kennedy International (JFK); Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG); Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW); Newark Liberty International (EWR); Metropolitan Oakland International (OAK); Ontario International (ONT); Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL); Honolulu International (HNL); Philadelphia International (PHL); George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (IAH); Phoenix Sky International (PHX); Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA); Denver International (DEN)

Figure 44. Graph. Total airport access delay by quarter.

Table 22. Airport access delay per mile by quarter.
Airport Area 2017
Q1
2017
Q2
2017
Q3
2017
Q4
2018
Q1
2018
Q2
2018
Q3
2018
Q4
2019
Q1
2019
Q2
2019
Q3
2019
Q4
ANC 479 462 505 453 470 522 585 480 324 355 457 430
ATL 1,542 1,778 1,831 1,741 1,956 2,818 2,160 2,274 2,429 2,736 2,339 1,851
CVG 914 1,318 1,261 992 1,010 1,260 1,571 1,439 1,292 1,962 2,391 989
DEN 541 643 663 616 572 581 560 574 677 730 676 635
DFW 1,041 1,237 1,175 1,193 1,094 1,285 1,176 1,243 1,537 1,791 1,257 724
EWR 1,291 1,606 1,552 1,664 1,343 1,655 1,400 1,605 1,379 1,821 1,719 1,403
HNL 1,319 1,641 1,707 1,664 1,929 2,106 1,952 1,913        
IAH 705 722 751 739 930 1,186 912 1,026 1,797 2,036 1,763 633
IND 661 792 783 758 826 927 1,075 889 1,679 1,995 2,190 924
JFK 2,327 3,132 2,969 2,971 2,856 3,571 3,209 3,376 2,215 3,681 2,810 2,401
LAX 3,093 3,581 3,403 3,281 3,618 4,337 4,048 3,989 3,599 4,011 4,997 4,149
MEM 1,277 1,465 1,428 1,460 1,325 1,513 1,457 1,437 1,598 1,854 1,796 1,436
MIA 3,227 3,397 3,333 3,595 2,956 3,256 3,043 3,194 3,156 3,544 3,552 3,104
OAK 2,181 2,335 2,077 2,256 2,024 2,253 2,224 2,336 2,218 2,380 2,327 2,019
ONT 4,231 4,523 4,673 5,091 4,371 5,004 5,044 5,462 5,164 5,668 4,404 3,853
ORD 2,089 3,391 3,208 2,791 2,486 3,728 4,158 3,219 2,449 3,643 3,550 2,687
PHL 643 903 883 875 831 1,010 928 885 803 1,022 1,079 872
PHX 4,019 3,192 3,079 3,619 5,347 4,414 4,066 5,113 6,233 5,540 2,366 2,393
SDF 974 1,081 1,141 1,104 1,099 1,279 1,241 1,274 1,335 1,583 1,433 1,121
SEA 1,394 1,616 1,688 1,708 1,994 2,234 2,123 1,764 1,468 1,653 1,804 1,581

Key for Airports: Memphis International (MEM); Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC); Louisville International–Standiford Field (SDF); Miami International (MIA); Indianapolis International (IND); Chicago O’Hare International (ORD); Los Angeles International (LAX); John F. Kennedy International (JFK); Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG); Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW); Newark Liberty International (EWR); Metropolitan Oakland International (OAK); Ontario International (ONT); Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL); Honolulu International (HNL); Philadelphia International (PHL); George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (IAH); Phoenix Sky International (PHX); Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA); Denver International (DEN)

Figure 45 shows airport area delay per mile for 2019. The larger circle sizes reflect the airports listed for delay per mile in table 21. The actual 2019 delay per mile for all airports in figure 45 is in table 23.

Airport area delay per mile in 2019. U.S. map of delay per mile for airports in 2019 showing access was worst in Phoenix, Ontario, Newark, and Los Angeles.

Source: FHWA Key for Airports: Memphis International (MEM); Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC); Louisville International–Standiford Field (SDF); Miami International (MIA); Indianapolis International (IND); Chicago O’Hare International (ORD); Los Angeles International (LAX); John F. Kennedy International (JFK); Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG); Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW); Newark Liberty International (EWR); Metropolitan Oakland International (OAK); Ontario International (ONT); Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL); Honolulu International (HNL); Philadelphia International (PHL); George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (IAH); Phoenix Sky International (PHX); Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA); Denver International (DEN)
Figure 45. Delay per mile for airport areas in 2019.

Table 23. Airport area access delay per mile for 2019.
Airport Area 2019 Delay per Mile
Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC) 2,496
Hartsfield -Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) 8,735
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG) 5,525
Denver International (DEN) 2,589
Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) 4,300
Newark Liberty International (EWR) 5,639
George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (IAH) 3,395
Indianapolis International (IND) 4,019
John F. Kennedy International (JFK) 12,955
Los Angeles International (LAX) 14,019
Memphis International (MEM) 5,767
Miami International (MIA) 12,070
Metropolitan Oakland International (OAK) 8,736
Ontario International (ONT) 21,677
Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) 11,895
Philadelphia International (PHL) 3,012
Phoenix Sky International (PHX) 20,075
Louisville International–Standiford Field (SDF) 4,724
Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) 6,085

Figure 46 shows the airports where access improved or worsened from 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 based on delay per mile. Honolulu, HI, is not accurate due to no truck data being available in 2019. However, access to airports like Anchorage, AK, Houston, TX, Chicago, IL, and Los Angeles, CA, improved in 2019, while other airports such as Denver, CO, and Ontario, CA, worsened.

Bar chart of percent change from 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 in airport access delay per mile by airport showing that airport access generally got worse in 2018 but overall improved in most airports by 2019.  There were no data for Honolulu in 2019.

Source: FHWA
Key for Airports: Memphis International (MEM); Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC); Louisville International–Standiford Field (SDF); Miami International (MIA); Indianapolis International (IND); Chicago O’Hare International (ORD); Los Angeles International (LAX); John F. Kennedy International (JFK); Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG); Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW); Newark Liberty International (EWR); Metropolitan Oakland International (OAK); Ontario International (ONT); Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL); Honolulu International (HNL); Philadelphia International (PHL); George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (IAH); Phoenix Sky International (PHX); Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA); Denver International (DEN)
Note: No data are available for Honolulu (HNL) in 2019.

Figure 46. Graph. Percent change in airport access delay per mile.

Rail Intermodal Facilities

Table 24 shows the performance of rail intermodal facilities included in the FMT. Appendix A provides definitions of the rail intermodal locations.

A number of facilities score highest for all indicators. These locations are areas with heavy freight activity and multimodal connections. For example, locations such as Chicago, IL, Houston, TX, Atlanta, GA, New Orleans, LA, Cincinnati, OH, and Fort Worth, TX, are major intermodal connections and hubs.

Table 24. The 10 highest rail intermodal area results for the Freight Mobility Trends performance indicators in 2019.
Note: Rail intermodal areas highest in most of the indicators are colored orange and have bold font.
Rail Intermodal DPM
(Hours/ Mile)
Rail Intermodal Total Delay (Annual Truck Hours) Rail Intermodal TTI Rail Intermodal PTI Rail Intermodal TRI Rail Intermodal BI Percent
Chicago, IL 13,807 Chicago, IL 2,326,172 Denver, CO 1.37 Atlanta, GA 2.56 Atlanta, GA 1.59 Atlanta, GA 81
Houston, TX 12,763 Denver, CO 1,831,769 Atlanta, GA 1.36 Denver, CO 2.51 Cincinnati, OH 1.56 Denver, CO 76
Atlanta, GA 12,379 Atlanta, GA 1,619,883 Chicago, IL 1.34 Chicago, IL 2.41 New Orleans, LA 1.48 Chicago, IL 71
Denver, CO 10,732 Houston, TX 1,092,608 Conway, PA 1.30 Cincinnati, OH 2.28 Chicago, IL 1.47 Cincinnati, OH 68
Memphis, TN 6,559 Cincinnati, OH 990,138 Cincinnati, OH 1.29 New Orleans, LA 2.17 Denver, CO 1.46 New Orleans, LA 61
New Orleans, LA 6,131 Kansas City, MO 637,408 New Orleans, LA 1.28 Houston, TX 2.10 Houston, TX 1.44 Houston, TX 57
Cincinnati, OH 5,594 Fort Worth, TX 573,588 Houston, TX 1.24 Conway, PA 1.97 Jacksonville, FL 1.34 Conway, PA 46
Fort Worth, TX 4,987 New Orleans, LA 569,098 Fort Worth, TX 1.22 Fort Worth, TX 1.82 Fort Worth, TX 1.28 FortWorth, TX 41
Kansas City, MO 4,490 North Little Rock, AR 565,702 Memphis, TN 1.19 Jacksonville, FL 1.73 Conway, PA 1.26 Jacksonville, FL 39
North Little Rock, AR 3,969 Memphis, TN 447,040 Jacksonville, FL 1.19 Kansas City, MO 1.72 Kansas City, MO 1.26 Kansas City, MO 33

Key: delay per mile (DPM), travel time index (TTI), planning time index (PTI), truck reliability index (TRI), buffer index (BI)

Figure 46 illustrates the delay per mile performance by quarter for access to rail intermodal facilities in ascending order from lowest to highest delay per mile. Like national delay per mile results, most of the facilities except those with the lowest delay per mile exhibit a similar trend of increases in delay per mile in the second quarter of each year. Additionally, the decreases in quarter four of 2019 are sharp for most of the facilities.

Table 25 provides the quarterly delay per mile for each rail intermodal facility area as shown in figure 47.

Stacked area chart of total rail intermodal facility access delay stratified by facility showing Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; and Houston, TX, having the most consistent lack of access between 2017 and 2019.

Source: FHWA
Figure 47. Graph. Quarterly total delay per mile for access to rail intermodal facilities.

Table 25. Rail intermodal facility area access delay per mile by quarter.
Rail Intermodal Area 2017
Q1
2017
Q2
2017
Q3
2017
Q4
2018
Q1
2018
Q2
2018
Q3
2018
Q4
2019
Q1
2019
Q2
2019
Q3
2019
Q4
Atlanta, GA 4,194 5,214 4,932 4,843 3,067 3,909 3,478 3,327 2,791 3,435 2,580 2,453
Barstow, CA 348 333 326 335 312 336 338 381 489 597 391 254
Birmingham, AL 464 500 469 446 389 465 467 596 491 539 495 468
Chicago, IL 2,660 4,160 4,133 3,494 3,067 4,367 4,712 3,777 2,803 4,117 4,283 3,329
Cincinnati, OH 1,233 1,829 2,355 1,343 1,120 1,465 1,398 1,322 1,381 1,845 1,727 1,290
Columbus, OH 786 991 1,119 1,144 1,177 1,179 1,135 1,085 969 1,277 997 688
Conway, PA 250 342 360 332 253 325 290 304 283 337 279 237
Denver, CO 2,185 2,860 2,780 2,464 2,378 2,833 2,900 2,503 2,836 3,339 3,364 2,615
Elkhart, IN 403 525 413 417 563 682 794 658 560 674 265 132
Fort Worth, TX 1,279 1,378 1,382 1,367 1,402 1,498 1,177 1,230 1,900 2,139 1,782 1,111
Houston, TX 2,709 2,900 2,895 2,967 3,028 3,466 3,162 3,494 4,189 4,563 4,135 2,774
Jacksonville, FL 902 990 994 1,053 932 1,026 980 958 930 1,003 1,026 879
Kansas City, MO 768 1,021 1,089 941 876 1,274 1,248 1,239 1,418 1,699 1,668 1,027
Laredo, TX 199 220 227 229 263 288 318 331 539 582 1,654 891
Memphis, TN 1,321 1,470 1,513 1,539 1,493 1,698 1,661 1,696 1,722 1,969 1,960 1,668
New Orleans, LA 1,366 1,445 1,461 1,466 1,392 1,469 1,515 1,539 1,642 1,718 1,651 1,534
North Little Rock, AR 997 1,005 870 882 942 952 866 1,056 1,479 1,726 1,606 996
North Platte, NE 127 127 123 123 109 124 131 133 112 108 86 89
Roanoke, VA 443 548 546 534 410 558 537 259 444 531 569 493
Shreveport, LA 597 633 685 654 700 681 725 605 528 624 664 474

Figure 48 shows the delay per mile for access to rail intermodal facilities, with larger circles relating to larger delay per mile. The actual delay per mile for 2019 for each rail intermodal facility is in table 26.

U.S. map of delay per mile for rail intermodal areas in 2019 showing access was worst in Georgia and Illinois.

Source: FHWA
Figure 48. Map. Rail intermodal area delay per mile in 2019.

Table 26. Rail intermodal area access delay per mile for 2019.
Rail Intermodal Location State 2019 Delay Per Mile
Atlanta GA 12,379
Barstow CA 1,418
Irondale AL 1,826
Northlake IL 13,807
Cincinnati OH 5,594
Columbus OH 3,671
Conway PA 1,101
Denver CO 10,732
Elkhart IN 2,278
Haslet TX 4,987
Houston TX 12,763
Jacksonville TX 3,571
Kansas City MO 4,490
Laredo TX 1,241
Memphis TN 6,559
New Orleans LA 6,131
North Little Rock AR 3,969
North Platte NE 466
Roanoke VA 1,958

Figure 49 shows the percent change for rail intermodal facilities from 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 based on delay per mile on surrounding NHS routes. Locations such as Shreveport, LA, Elkhart, IN, Jacksonville, FL, and Atlanta, GA, show improvements in 2019, while areas such as Cincinnati, OH, Laredo, TX, and New Orleans, LA, do not.

Bar chart of percent change from 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 in rail intermodal area delay per mile showing that rail area access generally got worse in 2018 but overall improved in most rail areas in 2019.  Cincinnati worsened along with Fort Worth, Laredo, Denver, and New Orleans.

Source: FHWA
Figure 49. Graph. Percent change in rail intermodal area delay per mile.

Ports

Table 27 shows port performance for the FMT indicators. Appendix A provides port definitions. Truck data for Hawaii ports do not exist for 2019.

Performance at major ports such as New York–New Jersey, Oakland, CA, Seattle, WA, Tacoma, WA, New Orleans, LA, and Miami, FL, score highest in the indicators.

Table 27. The 10 highest port area results for the Freight Mobility Trends performance indicators in 2019.
Note: Port areas highest in most of the indicators are colored orange and have bold font.
Port DPM
(Hours/ Mile)
Port Total Delay
(Annual Truck Hours)
Port TTI Port PTI Port TRI Port BI
Percent
New York–New Jersey 20,292 New York–New Jersey 1,899,634 New York–New Jersey 1.79 New York–New Jersey 4.39 Oakland, CA 1.74 New York–New Jersey 130
Oakland, CA 16,728 Houston, TX 1,639,442 Miami, FL 1.64 Miami, FL 3.67 Miami, FL 1.67 Miami, FL 119
Houston, TX 15,488 Baltimore, MD 1,446,424 New Orleans, LA 1.49 Oakland, CA 3.21 New York–New Jersey 1.63 Oakland, CA 100
Tacoma, WA 10,090 Oakland, CA 1,253,834 Oakland, CA 1.47 New Orleans, LA 2.89 Baltimore, MD 1.56 Tacoma, WA 84
Seattle, WA 9,843 Baton Rouge, LA 1,099,556 Seattle, WA 1.45 Seattle, WA 2.88 Tampa, FL 1.55 Seattle, WA 84
Long Beach, CA 9,634 Cincinnati, OH 949,034 Pittsburgh, PA 1.42 Tacoma, WA 2.79 Pittsburgh, PA 1.52 New Orleans, LA 86
New Orleans, LA 9,542 Tacoma, WA 911,249 Tacoma, WA 1.42 Pittsburgh, PA 2.75 Chicago, IL 1.51 Pittsburgh, PA 80
Los Angeles, CA 8,448 New Orleans, LA 858,402 Los Angeles, CA 1.39 Tampa, FL 2.51 New Orleans, LA 1.51 Tampa, FL 76
Baton Rouge, LA 7,759 Seattle, WA 700,267 Tampa 1.35 Los Angeles, CA 2.47 Cincinnati, OH 1.47 Los Angeles, CA 74
Miami, FL 7,423 Tampa, FL 700,115 Savannah, GA 1.35 Virginia 2.42 Seattle, WA 1.46 Chicago, IL 73

Key: delay per mile (DPM), travel time index (TTI), planning time index (PTI), truck reliability index (TRI), buffer index (BI)

Similar to national results, port areas follow the same trend for delay per mile on surrounding NHS routes (figure 50). Most ports have increases in the second quarter and downturns in the fourth quarter of 2019. Table 28 provides the quarterly delay per mile for port areas as shown in figure 50.

Stacked area chart of total port access delay stratified by port showing New York/New Jersey, Oakland, and Houston ports having the most consistent lack of access between 2017 and 2019.

Source: FHWA
Note: Hawaii data are not available for 2019.

Figure 50. Graph. Quarterly port access performance for delay per mile.

Table 28. Port area access delay per mile by quarter.
Port Area 2017
Q1
2017
Q2
2017
Q3
2017
Q4
2018
Q1
2018
Q2
2018
Q3
2018
Q4
2019
Q1
2019
Q2
2019
Q3
2019
Q4
Baltimore 1,206 1,616 1,510 1,456 1,387 1,809 1,570 1,681 1,857 2,377 2,172 1,634
Baton Rouge 2,261 2,508 2,405 2,305 1,846 2,172 1,920 2,060 2,223 2,225 2,029 1,899
Chicago 1,333 1,561 1,468 1,601 1,588 1,733 1,736 1,834 1,712 2,247 1,548 1,417
Cincinnati 1,168 1,751 2,254 1,229 1,084 1,430 1,412 1,322 1,288 1,755 1,728 1,293
Corpus Christi 305 331 362 371 340 379 402 395 683 800 426 165
Duluth 253 364 372 355 308 327 355 322 285 290 233 220
Honolulu 1,042 1,377 1,385 1,329 1,748 1,577 1,693 1,603        
Houston 3,457 3,739 3,755 4,028 3,980 4,494 3,993 4,116 4,876 5,170 4,715 3,279
Huntington Tri-State 305 342 323 309 331 357 367 378 283 404 283 245
Jacksonville 874 915 872 922 791 894 822 827 824 901 935 785
Long Beach 2,404 2,440 2,815 2,833 2,469 2,319 2,428 2,476 2,476 2,529 2,360 1,859
Los Angeles 1,985 1,991 1,914 1,900 1,934 2,035 2,038 2,402 2,021 2,231 1,765 1,622
Miami 2,306 2,213 2,173 2,298 2,044 1,969 1,753 1,978 2,072 2,207 1,505 1,404
Mobile 551 718 778 493 491 689 755 513 577 779 717 412
New Orleans 1,883 1,855 1,870 1,866 2,997 2,745 2,622 2,801 3,153 2,828 2,952 2,431
New York New Jersey 4,618 6,356 5,486 5,497 4,713 5,767 5,089 5,592 4,231 6,000 5,352 4,989
Oakland 3,391 4,022 3,775 3,753 3,774 4,562 4,417 4,345 5,126 6,265 4,668 3,294
Pittsburg 858 1,260 1,171 1,087 1,042 1,331 1,363 1,269 1,032 1,313 1,238 1,002
Savannah 633 708 714 703 610 645 618 596 600 670 666 606
Seattle 2,440 2,735 2,732 2,608 2,293 2,902 2,854 2,505 2,395 2,644 2,887 2,513
South Louisiana 542 547 550 528 501 530 555 531 476 556 596 593
St. Louis 822 1,618 1,357 974 1,018 1,218 1,137 1,142 923 1,306 1,066 895
Tacoma 1,827 2,504 2,581 2,244 1,972 2,543 2,805 2,367 2,101 3,068 3,291 2,250
Tampa 1,230 1,314 1,301 1,297 1,381 1,464 1,459 1,340 1,434 1,488 1,545 1,291
Virginia 576 834 796 599 645 767 750 388 747 1,049 1,062 650

Figure 51 shows the delay per mile for areas surrounding ports, with larger circles representing higher delay per mile. The 2019 delay per mile results for each port area are in table 29.

U.S. map of delay per mile for ports in 2019 showing access was worst in San Francisco, New York/Newark, and Houston.

Source: FHWA
Note: Hawaii data are not available for 2019.

Figure 51. Map. Port area delay per mile in 2019.

Table 29. Port area access delay per mile in 2019.
Note: Hawaii data are not available for 2019.
Location State 2019 Delay Per Mile
New York New Jersey NJ 20,292
Miami FL 7,423
Oakland CA 16,728
Tacoma WA 10,090
Seattle WA 9,843
New Orleans LA 9,542
Pittsburg PA 4,400
Tampa FL 5,067
Los Angeles CA 8,448
Chicago IL 7,055
Baltimore MD 6,908
Virginia VA 2,783
Long Beach CA 9,634
Cincinnati OH 5,289
Houston TX 15,488
Savannah GA 2,489
Baton Rouge LA 7,759
Jacksonville FL 3,126
Duluth MN 1,035
Mobile AL 2,440
St. Louis MO 3,664
Huntington Tri-State WV 1,176
Corpus Christi TX 1,335
South Louisiana LA 2,252
Honolulu HI 0

Figure 52 shows the access to port areas that improved or worsened from 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 based on delay per mile. Ports that showed access improvements for 2019 are Duluth, MN, Huntington (WV) Tri-State, New Orleans, LA, Saint Louis, MO, and Pittsburgh, PA. Those with noticeable worsening include Baltimore, MD, Chicago, IL, and South Louisiana, LA.

Bar chart of percent change from 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 in airport access delay per mile by port showing that port access had mixed results in 2018 with Honolulu and New Orleans getting significantly worse and most ports improving in 2019 except for South Louisiana, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Tacoma, Chicago, and Baltimore.  No data are available for Honolulu in 2019.

Source: FHWA
Note: No data are available for Honolulu in 2019.

Figure 52. Graph. Percent change in port area delay per mile.

Border Areas

Table 30 shows border areas scoring highest for the FMT indicators. Only Hidalgo, TX, and Calexico, CA, are in the highest group for all indicators. Laredo, TX, is in the ten highest for five of the six indicators.

Table 30. The 10 highest border area results for the Freight Mobility Trends performance indicators in 2019.
Note: Border areas highest in most of the indicators are colored orange and have bold font.
Border Area DPM
(Hours/ Mile)
BorderArea Total Delay
(Annual Truck Hours)
Border Area TTI Border Area PTI Border Area TRI Border Area BI Percent
Laredo, TX 4,669 Detroit, MI 473,072 Calexico, CA 1.69 Portal, ND 3.99 Highgate Springs, VT 2.05 Portal, ND 136
Detroit, MI 3,628 Laredo, TX 262,160 Portal, ND 1.69 Calexico, CA 3.54 Portal, ND 1.88 Calexico, CA 99
El Paso, TX 3,114 El Paso, TX 233,918 Hidalgo, TX 1.51 Hidalgo, TX 2.94 Jackman, ME 1.62 Hidalgo, TX 96
Hidalgo, TX 2,586 Buffalo, NY 232,777 Alexandria Bay, NY 1.48 Alexandria Bay, NY 2.54 Calais, ME 1.61 Eastport, ID 69
Port Huron, MI 2,550 Otay Mesa, CA 141,791 Laredo, TX 1.44 Derby Line, VT 2.41 Derby Line, VT 1.56 Derby Line, VT 69
Otay Mesa, CA 2,490 Hidalgo, TX 102,247 Jackman, ME 1.43 Laredo, TX 2.41 Hidalgo, TX 1.54 Calais, ME 66
Calexico, CA 2,324 Port Huron, MI 98,405 Madawaska, ME 1.37 Jackman, ME 2.37 Calexico, CA 1.50 Jackman, ME 66
Blaine, WA 2,269 Calexico, CA 92,981 Eastport, ID 1.37 Eastport, ID 2.33 Eastport, ID 1.49 Laredo, TX 66
Buffalo, NY 1,900 Houlton, MI 59,041 Derby Line, VT 1.36 Calais, ME 2.20 Madawaska, ME 1.48 Alexandria Bay, NY 59
Sumas, WA 1,162 Blaine, WA 33,323 Calais, ME 1.32 Pembina, ND 2.16 Houlton, MI 1.41 Lynden, WA 55

Key: delay per mile (DPM), travel time index (TTI), planning time index (PTI), truck reliability index (TRI), buffer index (BI)

Figure 53 shows the border area delay per mile performance by quarter for access to each facility. Border areas appear to show decreasing delay but still follow the national trend. Border areas of Detroit, MI, and Laredo, TX, show the most hours of delay per mile for the surrounding NHS.

Table 31 provides the quarterly delay per mile as shown in figure 53.

Stacked area chart of total border crossing access delay stratified by border area showing Detroit MI; Laredo, TX; El Paso, TX; and Port Huron, MI, having the most consistent lack of access between 2017 and 2019.

Source: FHWA
Figure 53. Graph. Quarterly border area performance for delay per mile.

Table 31. Border area access delay per mile by quarter.
Border Area 2017
Q1
2017
Q2
2017
Q3
2017
Q4
2018
Q1
2018
Q2
2018
Q3
2018
Q4
2019
Q1
2019
Q2
2019
Q3
2019
Q4
Alexandria Bay NY 852 958 959 913 259 314 289 262 230 246 231 200
Blaine WA 632 649 535 677 577 579 553 483 560 554 512 423
Buffalo NY 642 697 731 758 576 621 572 549 665 669 634 423
Calais ME 68 78 82 77 83 72 77 83 88 82 87 70
Calexico CA 688 704 697 709 704 771 654 715 639 626 634 657
Champlain-Rouses NY 187 204 206 198 139 148 157 131 129 141 134 125
Derby Line VT 272 215 215 217 104 78 66 99 106 57 57 76
Detroit MI 1,383 1,921 1,688 1,856 1,492 1,418 1,622 1,235 1,143 1,240 1,737 1,195
Eastport ID 145 166 171 156 157 143 149 142 106 91 79 71
El Paso TX 841 907 892 916 876 949 927 886 1,045 1,196 1,196 758
Highgate Springs VT 220 239 242 229 105 125 154 133 162 118 113 125
Hidalgo TX 599 664 687 708 720 766 689 779 655 644 730 797
Houlton MI 105 102 102 105 114 111 131 119 117 125 135 100
Jackman ME 135 151 150 144 135 144 139 144 143 148 152 163
Laredo TX 1,201 1,313 1,321 1,275 1,107 1,194 1,203 1,255 1,134 1,137 904 955
Lynden WA 200 215 223 201 178 219 216 197 156 184 170 135
Madawaska ME 74 87 89 82 81 81 93 86 83 88 91 81
Nogales AZ 149 140 139 133 247 256 255 265 254 258 245 225
Ogdensburg NY 93 97 97 97 65 58 59 57 45 46 46 49
Otay Mesa CA 413 379 403 389 756 680 585 715 836 914 611 364
Pembina ND 417 460 469 441 395 405 416 383 152 134 138 141
Port Huron MI 858 1,213 1,143 948 736 921 995 857 601 731 898 696
Portal ND 22 25 23 23 141 153 156 154 120 130 185 143
Sault Ste Marie MI 123 128 134 125 83 83 81 84 75 74 97 64
Sumas WA 321 330 334 324 310 338 346 327 278 305 300 272
Sweetgrass MT 212 233 238 240 227 238 234 228 153 156 162 156

Figure 54 depicts a map of border areas, with larger circles representing higher delay per mile on the surrounding NHS, matching the results shown in table 31. 2019 delay per mile for each border area is provided in table 32.

U.S. map of delay per mile for border areas in 2019 showing access was worst in Texas, California, and Michigan border crossings.

Source: FHWA
Figure 54. Map. Border area delay per mile in 2019.

Table 32. Delay per mile for border areas in 2019.
Location State 2019 Delay Per Mile
Alexandria Bay NY 868
Blaine WA 2,269
Lewiston NY 1,900
Calais ME 331
Calexico CA 2,324
Champlain NY 540
Derby VT 300
Detroit MI 3,628
Bonners Ferry ID 402
El Paso TX 3,114
Highgate VT 566
Hidalgo TX 2,586
Houlton ME 499
Jackman ME 578
Laredo TX 4,669
Lynden WA 749
Madawaska ME 359
Nogales AZ 874
Ogdensburg NY 193
San Diego CA 2,490
Pembina ND 659
Port Huron MI 2,550
Portal ND 524
Sault Sainte Marie MI 248
Sumas WA 1,162
Sweetgrass MT 669

Figure 55 shows the border areas that improved or worsened from 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 based on delay per mile. Most border areas improved, and only a few northern border areas worsened slightly.

Bar chart of percent change from 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 in border crossing access delay per mile by border area showing that border crossing access generally improved in both 2018 and 2019 but dramatically worsened in Portal, ND, in 2018.

Source: FHWA
Figure 55. Graph. Percent change in border area delay per mile.

Border Crossings

Another common measure of border crossing performance is the average minutes per mile of the actual segments into and out of Canada and Mexico. Table 33 shows the minute-per-mile rates.

Table 33. National border crossing minutes per mile.
Location 2017 2018 Average
National (weighted) 2.4 2.4 2.4
National (not weighted) 3 3 3
Direction (weighted) into Canada 2 2 2
Direction (weighted) into Mexico 1.9 1.9 1.9
Direction (weighted) into United States 2.1 2.1 2.1
Direction (not weighted) into Canada 3 3 3
Direction (not weighted) into Mexico 2.8 2.6 2.7
Direction (not weighted) into United States 3.1 3.2 3.1
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