HIGHWAY HEADLINES... 

       JANUARY TRAFFIC SLOWS   

      MOBILTRAK  MEASURES ACTUAL RADIO LISTENERS ON I-15   

      SATELLITE RADIO LISTENING STILL AT MARGINAL LEVELS

  TRAFFIC REPORT - JANUARY 2008                         

 I-15 at California/Nevada Stateline (Primm, Nevada) Vehicle counts in both directions, as measured by the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) were down in all three measured categories, with January Average Daily Traffic off 4%, Weekday Traffic down 6% and Weekend Traffic off 4%. (See chart at end of Briefing.) The shift in New Years holiday to Tuesday this year from Monday in 2007 may have also had some impact on the drop in holiday traffic.  Returning traffic (southbound) on January 1st and 2nd was off 16% from January 1st and 2nd last year. 

  Non holiday weekends were down. Northbound traffic on Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th, was down 2%; the 11th and 12th down 20% and the 25th and 26th  was down 13% from last years totals.  The 18th and 19th had a 20% jump, mostly likely explained by the 3 day Martin Luther King holiday.   Some explanation for the decline in January traffic may be the decline in the economy, including the impact of the Writers Strike on the Southern California economy, which was estimated by some sources as costing into the billions of dollars.  There could also be the psychological impact of a threatened recession, the price of gasoline and the several large storms across the Mojave during January (see articles below).  

  Laughlin, Nevada (SR163, Davis Dam Road) and U.S. 95 (Searchlight, .5 miles north of SR 164, Nipton Road) Average Daily Traffic was down 7%, Weekday Traffic down 6% and Weekend Traffic off 8%.  Westbound traffic on Davis Dam Road, leaving Laughlin after the New Years holiday, showed a similar pattern to Las Vegas, but with a smaller drop.  Vehicle counts were down 4% on January 1st and 2nd compared with January 1st and 2nd of 2007.  Other than that, the traffic patterns in January were a fairly consistent, with slightly higher traffic coming into Laughlin on Fridays.

  Mesquite, Nevada (200 feet north of the East Mesquite interchange) The magnetic counters at the Arizona/California state line also showed declines, with Average Daily Traffic off 5%, Weekday Traffic off 6% and Weekend Traffic down 6%.    Looking at the complete report from the NDOT on all Nevada highways, other than urban traffic none of the interstate or state highways showed increases and some locations showing declines of as high as 14%.

HOW MEDIA WOULD WEATHER A RECESSION   With recession talk in the air, marketers are scrutinizing their spending and radio is coming up more frequently.  These comments are based on an article published February 18, 2008 in the trade publication Ad Age.  Rex Conklin, Media Director of WalMart Stores, said WalMart already has started using radio for more efficient media spending in the wake of economic recession.  "Particularly in a down economy, the advantages of radio are significant in that it is very local and very flexible, which is incredibly important, especially when you’re talking about pricing," said Conklin.

  SATELLITE RADIO – WHO IS LISTENING?   Just 5.6% of adults 18+ in Southern California listen to XM or Sirius Satellite Radio based on a measurement done by the research firm, Scarborough, in August of 2006 through July of 2007 and Arbitron fall of 2007. This is compared to 92.9% who listened to terrestrial radio.  Among adults 18+ who did listen to radio in a given week just 1.8% listened to non-terrestrial radio.    According to a report from Bridge Ratings, the future for satellite radio is not big.  Satellite brand interest by non-subscribers is at an all-time low and churn is at all-time high. The conclusion is that as each satellite provider signs more subscribers, the potential for Cumulative Churn increases as well; Churn is the number of subscribers who cancel the paid service.  In the first quarter of 2007 the cancellation rates on XM were 67% and Sirius 43%, based on the reports from Bridge Ratings.

  HIGHWAY RADIO STAYED ON THE AIR AS MAJOR STORMS DO DAMAGE ACROSS THE MOJAVE  Residents of Barstow and Victorville were hit by heavy winds early in February.  Winds up to 60 miles an hour hit Barstow and Victorville, registering the highest anyone had seen in twenty years.  Fences, homes and roofs were damaged in both Victorville and Barstow and at the Mountain Pass transmitter site of Highway Radio, a 60 foot transmission tower, was toppled. 

   The storm did not impact Highway Radio’s service; however, on Sunday, February 3rd, Highway Radio stations across the desert were the only ones still operating, primarily because all of the stations have standby power.  Highway Radio’s operators on duty 24/7 were the only source of up-to-date storm information and driving conditions across the Mojave.  

  IMPROVEMENTS CONTINUE ON I-15   Tim Anderson, General Manager of Highway Radio, is a member of the I-15 Coordination Meeting which takes place bi-monthly.  Tim reports that more than a dozen projects of repaving, widening, and improvements in rest areas are in process. The prediction given by a representative of the LVCVA at our last Highway Radio breakfast is certainly being fulfilled.  He said, "I-15 improvements have been going on for seventeen years and they’ll probably go on for another fifty".

1.   Percentage increase (decrease) in average daily traffic northbound and southbound divided by the total number of days of       the month.

2.   Percentage increase (decrease) in total traffic northbound and southbound Monday through Thursday divided by the number   of days of the month.

3.   Percentage increase (decrease) in total traffic northbound and southbound for Saturday and Sunday divided by the number      of days of the month