Freight Transportation Services Index increased 0.5 percent to 130.2 in March, up from 129.5 in February. That’s the fourth increase in the last six months, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The March 2005 level is 4.0 percent higher than the March 2004 level of 125.2.
The overall TSI, which combines freight and passenger transportation data, rose 1.2 percent in March to 129.9 from the February level of 128.4, which also was the fourth increase in the past six months. The March level for the combined freight and passenger index is 5.0 percent higher than the March 2004 level of 123.7.
TSI is a single seasonally adjusted index of the month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by the for-hire transportation industries, including railroad, air, truck, inland waterways, pipeline and local transit. The index includes historic data from 1990 to the present, with 1996 as the baseline year. The TSI remains under development and is considered experimental.
