Expansion Factors 3.1

Understand how Expansion Factors are calculated using various datasets and their application across different road types and vehicle groups.

Note:

Expansion Factors are only available in the USA.

Expansion factors are multipliers used to estimate traffic volumes for various time periods based on Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) values. These values are derived from Geotab's telematics devices, which represent Geotab's market share, and from AADT modeling, which represents the entire market.

In the context of Altitude commercial traffic volume, an expansion factor provides a reasonable estimate of the overall traffic population. When applied as a multiplier to the aggregate volume data collected by Geotab, it offers a reliable approximation of general traffic volumes as displayed on our platform.

At present, Expansion Factors are available for the year 2022 and 2023 at standard geographical levels such as State and County.

Data Sources

Expansion Factors are calculated based on the following datasets:

Observed AADT Values

Derived from Geotab's telematics devices on road segments.

Predicted Market AADT

Derived from AADT model developed by Altitude by Geotab.

IHS Vehicle Registration Data
Used to calculate the ratio of commercial heavy-duty and medium-duty vehicles across the US.

Road type coverage

Expansion Factors are aggregated from AADT data for the following road types:

Road Type Categories (in Altitude)Road Types (same as OpenStreetMap Highway values)Description
Arterials

  • Trunk

  • Primary

  • Secondary

  • Tertiary

  • Trunk roads

  • Primary roads

  • Secondary roads

  • Tertiary roads

Highways

  • Motorways

  • Motorways

Vehicle Groups

Expansion Factors are provisioned for each of the following vehicle classification groupings:

Universal
Use to estimate the total market size across all vehicle types including commercial and non-commercial.
Heavy
Use to estimate the market size specifically for commercial heavy-duty vehicles.
Medium
Use to estimate the market size specifically for commercial medium-duty vehicles.

State & County level Expansion Factors

State and county level Expansion Factors are derived using a weighted average across road segments within each state or county. Aggregations are grouped based on road types and vehicle groups.

Expansion Factors not available

Expansion Factors are provided only when they meet defined filters. If an Expansion Factor is not available for a specific zone level (such as a county), it is estimated using the appropriate state-level Expansion Factor. Every state in the US has 2022 and 2023 Expansion Factors.

Segments with expansion factors that exceed 500 (or represent less than 0.2% market share) are excluded from the aggregation algorithm due to insufficient coverage by Geotab.

Canadian Expansion Factors are not currently available. If Canadian Expansion Factors are important for your business, please reach out to Altitude Support or talk to your account advisor at Altitude by Geotab.