The Wilmington-Harrisburg Freight (W-HF) Study was commissioned by Lancaster County and is currently underway to address the issue of the increasing truck and intermodal freight traffic along a corridor between the Ports of Wilmington and Philadelphia and the Harrisburg/Carlisle area, with special attention being paid to the intermediate Lancaster County market and overhead traffic. The principal routes in this corridor are Route 41 (PA and DE), U.S. 30, and PA 283.

The study includes an analysis of strategies to divert Port of Wilmington traffic traversing the corridor to other routes and modes. It was determined that the Port generates less than ten percent of the truck volumes within the corridor. It was further determined that the vast majority of the freight traffic was either originating or terminating (and often both) in the counties along the corridor. Specifically, "ninety-eight percent (98%) originates or terminates in Pennsylvania, Delaware, or Southern New Jersey. Only two percent (2%) of the trucks using the Wilmington-Harrisburg Corridor are not conducting business within the region. Thus, the majority of trucks in the Corridor are there because of local businesses."

The strategies developed recognize this and are grouped into two categories. The first category includes the railroad and Pennsylvania Turnpike scenarios, which address the long haul, through-traffic by exploring the potential to divert it from the Corridor. The second category includes the shipper and local improvement scenarios which are more focused on enhancing the efficiency of freight flows that are necessary to support local businesses.

The W-HF Study concludes that "the current routing is by far the most economical for truck movements currently in the Route 41 corridor". If tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike were to be reduced, "only a very small shift of traffic to the Turnpike is estimated for toll discounts of up to 50 percent….Thus, even if the Turnpike route were offered on a toll free basis, the Turnpike route would still cost….more than the current route" using PA 41, U.S.30 and PA 283 between Wilmington and Harrisburg. For that segment of the traffic, it is the most direct and appealing route.

The countless warehouses and distribution centers in this corridor provide further evidence of the attractiveness of the route to trucks.