Congestion cost trucking companies a record $94.6 billion in 2021, according to a new study published by the North American Transportation Research Institute, with Nevada, Louisiana, Georgia and California seeing the biggest rate increases from a 2016 baseline.

“Whether it is recurring congestion or incident-related, the result is reduced capacity and a slowdown in vehicle speeds, which adds time to a trip,” stated ATRI, a nonprofit trucking research group, in its first congestion study update since 2018.

“These delays increase the trucking industry’s operational costs. Traffic congestion increases direct industry costs such as driver compensation, fuel, and repair and maintenance. It also generates indirect and/or societal costs such as supply chain disruptions, inefficient use of fuel and diminished air quality.”

ATRI’s 2021 congestion costs — based on the cost-per-hour to operate a truck, average truck highway speeds and the most recent truck volume data — were 22.4% higher than 2020’s and 27% higher than the 2016 baseline. During that same five-year period, the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, increased 12.9%, ATRI noted.