Increasing nationwide disparities in road freight emissions across cities

Globalized production and the expansion of e-commerce have intensified urban road freight demand, exacerbating environmental impacts of cities and potential equity concerns across cities. These challenges have hindered progress toward Sustainable Development Goals 3, 10 and 11, yet long-term spatial trends remain understudied. Here we analyze city-level freight-related emissions (PM10, PM2.5, CO2 and NOx) across 3,107 US counties from 2011 to 2020, identifying two key sources of emissions inequity: demand-oriented and socioeconomic status-oriented. Demand-oriented inequity indicates that cities near freight corridors or terminals face disproportionately high emissions relative to their freight demand, with discrepancies increasing by 5.6–14.2%. SES-oriented inequity shows that minority communities, particularly those located near freight networks, are spatially correlated with higher emissions and greater declines in household income. These findings highlight the deep-rooted spatial disparities in the urban freight system, calling for coordinated action at national, regional and city levels to embed environmental justice into transport planning and compensation strategies.