Freight route performance under COVID-19

This Information Sheet provides estimates of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on freight vehicle travel times for selected routes in Australian major cities in early 2020. The results show that whilst there was no significant change in freight vehicle traffic volumes over that period, freight vehicles experienced shorter and more predictable travel times on many urban freight routes, primarily due to reduced commuting trips. This helped the freight industry to maintain supply chains during the initial stages of the pandemic. The data underlying the estimates is from the BITRE freight telematics program collection, which is sourcing vehicle position data from a small number of road freight operators.