Mixed Report on Freight Services

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) dropped 0.2 percent from May to June, following a 1.2 percent gain from April to May.

According to BTS officials, the 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 BTS said that the June Freight TSI at 113.8 is 1.2 percent below the all time high of 115.2 recorded in December 2011 and 20.0 percent higher than the recent low of 94.9 recorded during the depths of the recession in April 2009.

The Freight TSI has seen gains in six of the last eight months.

BTS said that the June’s Freight TSI is up 1.8 percent annually and is up 1.4 percent on a year-to-date basis through the first six months of 2013. And it added that the 0.2 percent dip in June was due to a decline in rail carloads and pipeline shipments.

SC
MR