Traffic snags cost Chicago more than $7 billion

Freight industry along losing $1 billion a year due to congestion

By Dave Hannon -- Purchasing, 8/20/2008 12:56:00 PM

A report released this week by Chicago’s Metropolitan Planning Council estimates that Chicago and its surrounding counties will lose $7.3 billion this year in wasted fuel, time, productivity and environmental damage caused by traffic congestion.

The report, titled Moving at the Speed of Congestion says the freight industry alone loses $1 billion each year due to congestion, which could be to fund the local share of the program to modernize and improve the region's freight infrastructure.

One of the case studies cited in the report describes how even logistics giant UPS falls victim to Chicagoland traffic snarls, which have increased its costs dramatically. The report says: “Airborne packages arrive at [O’Hare airport] in the early morning hours, with the last flight ar­riving at 5:00 a.m. Every effort is made to have the cargo on its way by 6:00 a.m. However, if an aircraft is delayed, trucks transporting the cargo to a distribution center can become mired in morning rush-hour traffic. As congestion has increased, UPS has responded by adding drivers and delivery runs.”

MPC officials were clear in their vision that the problem needs to be addressed soon.

“If nothing is done to solve Chicagoland's traffic dilemma, by 2030 we'll be squandering $11.3 billion a year due to traffic,” said MarySue Barrett, MPC president in a statement. “Excess congestion has infected the entire region's transportation network, and everyone from Kane to Cook should support and invest in solutions.”