For the second consecutive month, the Freight Transportation Services Index edged up slightly in July, rising 0.4 percent over its June level, according to preliminary numbers released by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics on Sept. 9. The Freight TSI is up 5 percent over the last 14 months after declining 15.3 percent in the previous 10 months. The index also has risen in 11 of the last 14 months.
The July Freight TSI of 98.2 is 2.5 percent higher than July 2009, but it remains below the level of every other July since 1997. The July level is 13 percent below the historic peak of 112.9 in May 2006.
The seasonally adjusted Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments in ton-miles, which are then combined into one index. The index measures the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and consists of data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight. The base year for the index is 2000.
