Overview
The purpose of this project was to estimate the impact of weather on U.S. roadway freight operations. It was already known that the freight sector of transportation could be greater than $600 billion of total gross domestic product, and 70 percent of that total value is moved by truck. Therefore, inclement weather can significantly affect the shipping costs, which then results in negative impacts on the overall economy. This study found that inclement weather events impact freight traffic between 3 and 6 percent of the time, with the national average being 4.6 percent. The cost associated with this was estimated to be $8.659 billion, or 1.6 percent of the total estimated freight market of $574 billion. Thus it can be determined that improvements in road weather management programs can have a significant impact from a benefit/cost standpoint.