Commercial vehicle traffic volume across the United States has seen an overall drop across the United States and Canada as a result of COVID-19, even while heavy-duty trucking activity remains robust, according to Geotab data.

This is based on Geotab data on commercial vehicle activity and the flow of goods across North America, according to Geotab. The data, which is processed from more than 2 million Geotab connected vehicles, shows that despite an overall drop in commercial traffic volume across the continent, heavy-duty trucks are still on the road and are helping to provide essential goods to communities throughout Canada and the United States.

Indeed, heavy-duty vehicles have recorded the lowest decline, with 84% of normal activity on March 27, 2020 compared to baselines taken from February 1 to March 15, 2020, according to Geotab. And while commercial traffic has shown a decline overall, commercial transportation activity to grocery stores has recorded the least impact.

“While many communities across North America and the world are declaring a state of emergency and are mandating the closure of non-essential businesses, trucking and logistics companies are continuing to deliver the goods that we rely on every single day,” said Neil Cawse, CEO at Geotab.

Geotab data shows that while commercial vehicle movement surrounding warehouses and retail stores has dropped 20-30%, the flow of commercial vehicle traffic to grocery stores has only declined by 10% since March 15, 2020.

Data also shows that while fuel fill ups have declined rapidly in all other commercial vehicle types, including cars and light-duty vehicles, heavy-duty truck fill ups remain very similar to prior to the pandemic.