Project Summary
E-retail sales have experienced a 15% steady year over year growth during the last few years. Although there are circumstances where e-commerce is environmentally beneficial compared to traditional retailing, the full impacts of logistics decisions allowing for expedited and reliable delivery services (which increased the popularity of e-commerce) are not fully understood. One of these logistics decisions is the location of the facilities along the supply chain; particularly, the warehouses and distribution centers. In Southern California, there is evidence of changes in supply chain location decisions where e-fulfillment centers for rush deliveries are locating closer to denser areas. The extent of this phenomenon is not clear, in terms of its magnitude or the specific communities affected by the increased freight activity. Nevertheless, there is already a concentration of freight facilities in specific locations in California, and the vehicle (mostly diesel trucks) movements to and from these facilities are affecting both disadvantaged and low-income communities. This research will study the impacts of e-commerce on the geographic distribution of freight activity. Additionally, this research will estimate the resulting changes in medium and heavy-duty vehicles miles traveled due to different distribution patterns, estimate the environmental impacts of this travel, and characterize the potential consequences for disadvantaged communities where these facilities may be locating. More importantly, this project will identify and discuss a set of strategies to mitigate the unintended consequences of increased freight activity in those communities.