Congestion Costs U.S. Cities Billions Every Year

INRIX has released its 2019 Global Traffic Scorecard, highlighting the cities with the worst levels of traffic congestion around the world. The company defines congestion as "the demand for road space exceeding supply" and heavy traffic jams can have serious economic consequences. Commuters and freight vehicles lose time, one of a myriad of congestion factors that can prove costly for the economy. The American Transportation Research Institute estimates that congestion costs the U.S. freight sector $74.1 billion annually, $66.1 billion of which occurs in urban areas.

There are other costs too such as pollution and accidents, all of which can cost cities billions of dollars every year. INRIX estimates that New York lost $11 billion due to traffic congestion last year, the highest costs of any major American city. Los Angeles is well known for its traffic gridlock and it comes second with just over $8 billion in losses while Chicago had the third-worst impact, losing $7.6 billion.