Economic Impacts of Congestion and Border Delays on the United States and Canadian Economies

As part of a study for the US-Canada Transportation Border Working Group (Sponsored by the FHWA), EDR Group, under subcontract to Cambridge Systematics, provided technical analysis to assess of the economic impacts of border delays on such economic indicators as retail sales, tourism, and employment. These costs relate to specific costs to carriers and manufacturers resulting from border transit times and uncertainty, other border-related costs borne by manufacturers and carriers for duties, broker fees, customs administration, etc., and costs for inspection staffs borne by the two governments. These investigations will provide a better understanding of the economic costs of the current cross-border transit times and analyze the economic savings from reduced travel/transit times resulting from FAST, NEXUS, and other improvements at border crossings.