Traffic congestion, reliability and logistical performance: A multi-sectoral assessment

The research reported in this paper updates and extends an earlier study, in 1998, of the effects of traffic congestion on logistical efficiency in the UK. It begins by reviewing literature published on the subject over the past decade. This highlights the complexity of the impact of congestion on logistics operations and sectoral variations in their sensitivity to transport-related unreliability. Data from the UK government's Transport KPI surveys are analysed to assess the relative importance of congestion as a source of delays. The paper also reports the results of a cross-sectoral interview survey of 37 managers in 28 companies which examined the relative impact of congestion and assessed the extent to which a range of congestion mitigation measures are currently being applied. © 2009 Taylor & Francis.