The Freight Transportation Services Index fell 0.6 percent to 111.8 in September from the August level of 112.4, falling for the third time in four months, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported.
During the six months ending in September, the Freight TSI has fallen 0.7 percent. But year-over-year, the Freight TSI is up: The September 2005 level of 111.8 is 0.9 percent higher than the September 2004 level of 110.8.
The overall TSI, which also considers passenger transportation, rose 0.1 percent in September to 111.6 from the August level of 111.5, turning up after a one-month decline. Year-over-year, the September level for the combined index was 2.1 percent higher than the September 2004 level of 109.3.
TSI is a 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, which includes historic data from 1990 to the present, remains under development and is considered experimental. The base year of the index is 2000. BTS is part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration.
