How to read it
- Brighter roads carry more freight trucks per hour.
- Interstates stay lit all night; local delivery roads wake up around 6 AM.
- Hover or tap a road for its daily volume, this hour and the 2050 forecast.
Now mapped: Chicago region
- About 2,000 miles of freight highways, from Elgin and Aurora to Joliet and Gary.
- The busiest stretch is the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94) just south of the Loop: about 9,200 freight trucks a day in 2017, and about 16,100 forecast for 2050.
- The corridors never sleep. About 1,800 freight trucks are still moving at 3 AM, against about 4,900 at the 1 PM peak (modeled).
- By 2050, FAF5 forecasts about 68% more freight truck-miles per day on the same roads.
More metro areas are on the way. The underlying data covers the entire US highway network.
Data and method
Truck volumes come from the Freight Analysis Framework (FAF5) highway assignment published by the Federal Highway Administration and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics: 2017 base year and 2050 forecast. They count freight trucks moving FAF flows, not every truck on the road. Hour-by-hour values apply illustrative daily profiles by road role (long-haul, regional, local delivery); they are not measured counts. “Trucks on the move” divides truck-miles per hour by an assumed 40 mph average speed.
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Frequently asked questions
Where does the truck traffic data come from?
From the Freight Analysis Framework (FAF5) highway assignment by FHWA and BTS, which estimates daily freight truck volumes on every segment of the US highway network for 2017 and forecasts them to 2050.
Is this real-time truck traffic?
No. It shows a modeled typical weekday. Daily FAF5 volumes are spread across 24 hours with illustrative profiles by road role, not live or measured counts.
Which areas are covered?
The Chicago region today. FAF5 covers the whole US highway network, and more metro areas will be added.
How much will truck traffic grow by 2050?
It depends on the region. On the Chicago-area network, FAF5 forecasts about 68% more freight truck-miles per day in 2050 than in 2017.
Can I build something like this into my own product?
Yes. Placematic provides truck routing, geocoding and map APIs used by ELD, TMS and logistics platforms. The free tier includes 10,000 requests a month.
