Data from the most recent INRIX Gridlock Index (IGI) shows overall levels of U.S. traffic jumped by more than nine percent during April – the second largest year-over-year increase recorded by the IGI. While more commuters and shoppers took to the roads on a nationwide basis, regional measures differed sharply. Midwestern metro areas saw gridlock shoot up while gridlock in the southern metro areas lagged behind, raising questions of a two-speed recovery.

"The latest IGI shows the U.S. economy is getting back to business," said Bryan Mistele , CEO of INRIX. "However, the pattern we're seeing in our data shows that the economies in some regions – like the Midwest – are accelerating while others are stuck in a lower gear."

Overall U.S. gridlock levels grew by 9.4 percent from April 2012 to April 2013 to reach a composite IGI score of 6.9. This means the average trip took drivers in the 100 most populated metro areas nearly seven percent longer because of increased traffic congestion, a side-effect of better economic times. Yet a regional view showed that year-over-year traffic declined in metro areas like Baton Rouge (-38%), Oklahoma City (-32%), Louisville (-26%) and New Orleans (-21%), consistent with a pattern for the South that emerged late last year. The economies in the nation's other regions fared much better, with traffic growing in northeastern metro areas by 10 percent and in western metro areas by 13 percent. With 14 percent year-over-year growth, metro areas in the Midwest showed the strongest regional performance.

IGI data for April 2013 shows gridlock increases in the South trailing behind other regions. At the national level gridlock increased by over nine percent year-over-year, the second largest increase recorded by the IGI.

The mixed performance seen in the latest IGI data is reflected in other recent economic news. Data through March 2013 from the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices showed the highest increase in U.S. house prices since 2007¹, while the Conference Board's gauge of economic sentiment hit a five-year high in May.² April's Fed Beige Book, however, showed economic observers were more cautious in southern districts like Atlanta and Richmond, as they reported mixed sales activity, lower expectations for manufacturing activity and hiring restrained by uncertainty over fiscal and healthcare policies. ³

The national IGI for April 2013 shows the average trip took nearly 7 percent longer due to traffic.