Traffic congestion and trucking managers' use of automated routing and scheduling

Using data from a 2001 survey of managers of 700 trucking companies operating in California, we tested competing hypotheses about the relationship between managers' perceptions of the impact of traffic congestion on their operations and their companies' adoption of routing and scheduling (R/S) software. Demand for R/S software was found to be influenced directly by the need to re-route drivers, and indirectly by the need, generated by customers' schedules, to operate during congested periods. We were also able to identify which types of trucking companies are most affected by congestion and which types are more likely to adopt such software.