How will e-commerce growth impact our transportation network? Final report.

Details

• Creators:
  Rutter, Allan ; Bierling, David H. ; Lee, Dahye ; Morgan, Curtis Alan ; Warner, Jeffery E.
• Corporate Creators:
  Texas A&M Transportation Institute
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Delivery Vehicles Electronic Commerce Logistics Physical Distribution Supply Chain Management Traffic Characteristics Traffic Volume Trucking
• Publication/ Report Number:
  PRC 17-79 F
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States;Texas
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Texas A&M Transportation Institute
• Abstract:
  The steady growth in online retailing continues to rattle long-established business models and the
  
  shopping patterns of consumers (who are also taxpayers, voters, and drivers). Those consumers
  
  are increasingly choosing shorter delivery cycles—opting in some cases to receive their goods
  
  within hours rather than days.
  
  The demand for more immediate delivery requires retailers to be more nimble and radically
  
  changes warehousing logistics. Sellers are augmenting their reliance on million-plus square foot
  
  facilities, adding smaller sorting and delivery hubs and locating them closer to their customers.
  
  Moreover, while retailers continue to employ traditional delivery services like FedEx, UPS, and
  
  USPS, they also are looking to independent contractors who use personal vehicles to transport
  
  packages in the same way that transportation network companies like Uber ferry passengers.
  
  These changes can directly impact our transportation system, and they bring to light a number of
  
  challenges for transportation planners, operating agencies, and policy makers. For instance:
  
  - Evolving delivery operations cloud the picture of how carriers are regulated. Much of the
  
  regulation of motor carriers in Texas relates directly to the weight capacity of the vehicles
  
  transporting cargo. Most traditional delivery operations fall under this statutory
  
  description, requiring certificates of operating authority from the Federal Motor Carrier
  
  Safety Administration. The use of personal autos by people acting as independent
  
  contractors may meet the basic definition of a motor carrier (transporting cargo for hire),
  
  but these contractors are not required to register as such because of the vehicles’ smaller
  
  size. Consequently, they avoid a number of safety and operational requirements.
  
  - Changes in urban logistics will impact roadway system use and needs. The further
  
  expansion of e-commerce will increase warehousing needs. These facilities, located
  
  increasingly within urban areas, require interstate highway access to accommodate more
  
  frequent daily truck traffic. Even with increased automation, these centers will require
  
  larger workforces than traditional warehouses would, creating more trips by employees
  
  coming from areas with limited transit service options and working multiple shifts.
  
  - Personal vehicle use in express delivery growth will affect traffic patterns. Growing
  
  numbers of express deliveries involve personal vehicles, mirroring the model of
  
  transportation network companies, which may increase the number of non-peak-period
  
  trips into residential areas. These trips may not be captured in current regional travel
  
  demand models that help to forecast system needs, so planning agencies will need to
  
  adjust their models to ensure that those needs are more accurately projected.
  
  E-commerce and its associated delivery demands will likely continue to disrupt traditional
  
  business practices. Planners and policy makers alike will need to closely monitor these changes
  
  to effectively plan and operate a transportation system that meets the needs of a growing
  
  population of road users and consumers.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:20da6e18ec42827241393ba220bffe8519504fc91ec4060703cb6fa6bf536a196994318dc0f8dc14e812a7694b35663346ad74c6e267d65c911e1b0bb34a2eaf
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/32858/dot_32858_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.01 MB ]