Evaluating Automated Truck Platoon (ATP) Deployment for the Los Angeles-Inland Empire Trade Corridor Enhancement

The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) for the counties of the Los Angeles-Inland Empire in the Southern California Region shows several future year developments to accommodate automated truck platoon (ATP). Truck ‘platooning’ occurs when automated trucks safely follow or draft each other at very close distances to conserve fuel and maximize road space. The ATP would operate on critical highways of the trade corridor of the Los Angeles-Inland Empire that encompasses counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura. Currently, trade corridor highways experience perpetual congestion and capacity limitations for efficient truck movement. This adds to the increased burden on the supply chain network of the corridor-dependent industries. The ATP appears to ease some of the current challenges industries face by at least partially addressing the truck driver shortage, meeting California’s emissions reductions goals, and improving transportation for businesses impacted during COVID-19 lockdown. However, the extent to which ATP could benefit industries dependent on the Los Angeles-Inland Empire region trade corridor is unknown. Therefore, this proposed research will be a comprehensive study focused on evaluating the impact of ATP on efficiency improvements in the supply chain network of industries in the Los Angeles-Inland Empire trade corridor through a new freight accessibility measure developed in this research. The two main objectives that will be accomplished through this proposed research are as follows:

• Determining critical route options for automated truck platoon deployment on the freight network of the Los Angeles-Inland Empire trade corridor, and
• Evaluating supply chain network efficiencies with new freight accessibility to key industry sectors (such as Retail Trade, Manufacturing, Health Care and Social Assistance, Accommodation and Food Services, etc.) ‘with’ and ‘without’ the ATP deployment.