Evaluating Alternative Operations Strategies to Improve Travel Time ...

SHRP 2 L11: Final Appendices
program are determined by the perceived value of time, the benefit-loss calculations based on this
method will be inaccurate except in the cases in which truck operators possess a perfect knowledge
of the marginal profit.”
Using data collected from a stated preference survey on congestion pricing, Kawamura (2000)
found the mean value of truck time to be approximately $30.00 (converted to 2008 dollars). The
value of time for California operators varied by carrier and operation types, but not necessarily
with respect to shipment weight. Additional findings from Kawamura (2000) are shown in Table
B.5. This table shows that carriers whose drivers are paid by the hour have a higher value of time
than carriers who have fixed-salary drivers. In addition, for-hire carriers have a higher value of
time than private operators.
Smalkoski and Levinson (2003) implemented an adaptive stated-preference survey for carriers and
shippers in Minnesota, analyzing their willingness to pay for operations permits during the spring
load-restriction period. The mean value of time was $49.42, with a 95% confidence interval of
$40.45 to $58.39. The authors were unable to produce value-of-time estimates for different carrier
groups, but, like Kawamura, they observed that for-hire firms seem to have a “considerably”
higher value of time than other groups.
Table B.5 - Truck Value of Time by Truck Operator Type: Findings from a Stated
Preference Survey
Truck Operator Type
Truck-All $30.91
Private Carrier $23.25
For-Hire Carrier $36.98
Truckload Operations $33.02
Less-than-Truckload Operations $29.85
Hourly Paid Drivers $33.55
Other Pay Type $19.95
Source: Kawamura (2000) converted to 2008 dollars.
Value of Time
FHWA Freight Management and Operations publications have reported the value of time for
freight as a range between $25 and $200 per hour (FHWA 2008). The high end of the FHWA
range is based on the Small et al. (1999) truck value of time estimated range of $144-$192 per
hour. Given the likely idiosyncrasy of the estimates from the stated preference data collected by
Small et al. (1999), the upper end on the range for freight mover value of time may likely be closer
to between $75 and $100 (with the overall range of truck value of time between $25 to $100), and
likely not as high as $200, on average.
The Southern California Association of Governments adopted a value of $73 per hour for use in
freight studies based on the FHWA publications. Similarly, after reviewing the literature on the
truck value of time, the Puget Sound Regional Council, working with the freight working group at
the Washington State DOT, adopted truck value-of-time estimates of $40 for light trucks, $45 per
hour for medium trucks, and $50 per hour for heavy trucks (Outwater and Kitchen, 2008).
Value-of-time estimates derived using a cost-based approach have consistently placed the value of
time for freight at around $25 to $30 per hour, which is primarily based on driver compensation
and benefits, with a small fraction of the hourly cost from vehicle depreciation and inventory costs.
If one were to include additional shipper value of time costs (in addition to the direct driver time
DETERMINING THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF IMPROVING TRAVEL-TIME RELIABILITY Page B-24