Activities of commercial vehicles just before or just following international border crossings are not well understood. Logistical responses to border crossings are believed to increase miles traveled empty, total travel times, and total vehicle emissions. Analysis of observational data and surveys taken by commercial carriers at the Cascade Gateway border crossings (between Whatcom County, Washington, in the United States and lower British Columbia in Canada) improves understanding of how the border and associated policies and regulations affect logistics operations, both in manner and in scope. Findings suggest that the border creates logistical incentives for trucks to deadhead (cross the border without carrying goods as part of a cross-border round-trip journey) and to make staging stops near the border for border-related transloading. The Free and Secure Trade program, as observed in the Cascade Gateway region, unintentionally amplifies the existing negative logistical incentives created by the border.
Klein, Matthew, and Anne Goodchild. "Pacific highway commercial vehicle operations: border policy and logistical efficiency in a regional context." Transportation Research Record 2238, no. 1 (2011): 15-23.