Study Depicts Challenges of Moving OS/OW Cargo Across State Lines

Map depicts state border friction ENLARGE IMAGE

April 18, 2016 - As part of a study on multi-state, multi-modal oversize/overweight (OS/OW) transportation for the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the firm CPCS indexed 72 unique OS/OW regulations, operational restrictions, and permitting requirements to display the inconsistency or “friction” between neighboring states.

Border friction reflects the additional delay, risk, administrative burden, and ultimately cost from differences in regulations. Border friction does not reflect the degree of regulatory restrictiveness itself. For example, two states that both have restrictive axle weights or strict civilian escort requirements are shown as sharing a border with a low friction ranking.

SC&RA reports that a the TRB report on OS/OW freight, which also puts forward practical solutions for improving multi-state OS/OW transportation, will be published in the coming months.