New York City recently released their Smart Truck Management Plan which will enhance the economic vitality and quality of life for all New Yorkers by providing for the safe, equitable, efficient, and responsible movement of goods.
Interestingly, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated many of the trends that DOT was tracking. Some of the key findings and trends from the plan include:
Changing consumer and retail trends:
- E-commerce has grown rapidly in recent years, generating more than $146 billion nationwide in the first retail quarter of 2019, or 10.5% of all estimated retail sales in the United States.
- In 2018, 45% of New Yorkers received a delivery of some kind at their home at least once a week.
- According to a study of over 3.5 million orders, the top five categories of goods New Yorkers ordered in 2018 were groceries and gourmet food, home and kitchen, health and beauty, electronics and accessories, and apparel and accessories.
- Market researchers estimate that more than 500 million packages were delivered to New York City in 2018, up 13% from 2017. More than 1 billion e-commerce packages will be delivered by 2024 if this growth continues (Rakuten Intelligence).
Freight generators, flows, and volumes:
- The top five Industrial Business Zones (IBZs) truck destinations, based on goods movement, are JFK Airport, Hunts Point, North Brooklyn, Maspeth, and Southwest Brooklyn.
- Seven industry sectors account for 84% of all freight trips in New York City – retail, wholesale, accommodation and food services, modal transportation, construction, and health care. (Source: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)).
- Construction-related trucks make up 10% of Staten Island’s truck trips, the highest share among the five boroughs for that sector (RPI).
- Retail-related truck trips are highest in the Bronx (38%), while 25% of truck trips in Manhattan are related to wholesale trade (Source: RPI).
- The city is a net importer of goods: in 2012, 62% of the goods movement (by volume) was inbound; 26% was outbound and 12% moved internally (NYMTC).
- Five states create 87% of out-of-state truck trips in the city: New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Ohio. This creates increased reliance on emerging distribution hubs in the Lehigh Valley to service the New York City market (ATRI).
- The George Washington Bridge is used by nearly 55% of all trucks crossing the Hudson, approximately 30,000 per day. This is also the number one freight bottleneck in the country.
- The highest number of truck volumes during morning and evening peak periods are the Goethals Bridge (connecting Staten Island to New Jersey), the Major Deegan Expressway (connecting the Bronx to Yonkers), the CrossBronx Expressway, and the Throgs Neck Bridge.
- The total number of trucks crossing major bridges and tunnels between New York and New Jersey increased at a faster rate than automobile volumes between 2015 and 2018.
- An average of 120,429 trucks crossed into or out of New York City every day in 2016. At the borough level, the most trucks cross the Queens boundary (130,300), followed by Manhattan (125,600), the Bronx (103,600), Brooklyn (73,500), and Staten Island (26,400).
- Overall, traffic volumes have grown by 12% between 2015-2018, but truck traffic volumes have grown by 21%. In this period, small, single unit 2-axle trucks accounted for more than 50% of the growth in truck volumes. Recent Two-Way tolling on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge may impact overall commercial travel patterns in the future.
To listen to our conversation with Trucking Association of New York (TANY) President Kendra Hems about the freight plan, click here.
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