Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on road freight transportation – A Colombian case study

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc worldwide, with profound economic, environmental, and social implications. Fears about the economic situation have called attention to freight transportation performance as a derivative economic development demand. It is critical to economic growth, especially in industrialized countries with a strong positive relationship to road transport. The empirical evidence in developing countries, such as Colombia, showed that economic growth has had linked to road freight transport regardless of comparisons with other economic sectors. Thie main objective of the paper is to assess the impact caused by the COVID-19 restrictions on freight transport by road to depict the challenge between freight transport performance and economic growth. The total freight transported in 2020 was predicted based on a time series analysis considering the system's performance. As a result, in 2020, the ton of freight transported became only 40% of the predicted freight in the most critical month. The analysis can help planners implement policies to improve freight transport behavior and react during future economic downturns. Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate that freight transportation must be fast and flexible, is crucial to act in the short term, and consider the long-term recovery. In addition, cooperation among the various economic sectors' stakeholders must be necessary.