Free and Secure Trade Commercial Vehicle Crossing Times at the Pacific Highway Port of Entry

Abstract

At the Pacific Highway port of entry between the United States and Canada, typical delays are known to regional carriers and internalized into schedules. Due to their relative infrequency, the largest crossing times are not internalized into schedules and cause significant disruptions to regional supply chains. This technical note describes the recent patterns of very long crossing times (defined as more than 2 h or the largest 1% of crossing times) and explores the relationship between arrival volume and crossing time. To do so, this study uses commercial vehicle crossing time data from GPS technology and volume data from the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation. Results show a weak correlation between border crossing time and arrival volume when considering individual observations, but a stronger correlation when data are aggregated. Results show a high percentage of crossing time can be attributed to sources other than primary booth delay, particularly for the most disruptive, very long crossing times.