Estimating the Traffic Congestion Footprint of Retail E-Commerce
Name
1721.1-123316.pdf
Description
Full report
Size
1.1 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
1f262a2d4bf7bf401b07fcf03756aa51
Author(s)
Parks, Steven
Winkenbach, Matthias
Date Issued
October 2023
Abstract
The last decade has seen pivotal changes in the "last mile" of logistics: online order volumes are growing, customers are expecting deliveries with quicker turnarounds, and new technologies such as drones and electric vehicles are reshaping suppliers' fulfillment strategies. This study estimates the effects of e-commerce logistics on urban mobility, seeking to quantify how efforts by e-commerce suppliers and carriers to meet shifting consumer demands impacts traffic congestion as experienced by city drivers. Because the impacts to traffic caused specifically by e-commerce operations is not directly observable, we estimate these effects using traffic simulation models.
We find that the impact of last-mile e-commerce activities to traffic congestion depends heavily on changes to people's travel behavior as they purchase more goods online. If people make fewer daily shopping trips to brick-and-mortar stores, traffic congestion will improve. If people complement online shopping with in-store shopping, traffic congestion will degrade. To mitigate potential negative traffic impacts, we recommend carriers reform their delivery networks to limit the distances delivery vehicles must travel within cities. Introducing micro-fulfillment centers close to end customers, serving secure lockers where consumers can pick-up packages, transitioning to alternative delivery vehicles with smaller traffic footprints, and consolidating packages onto fewer delivery vehicles with larger cargo capacities can all help reduce the traffic congestion induced by last-mile operations.
Subjects
supply chain management
logistics
e-commerce
last-mile delivery
purchasing behavior
transportation
traffic
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