Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports gains in Freight TSI

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) headed up for the second straight month, rising 0.5 percent from October to November.

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.

November’s Freight TSI at 123.2 was 1.2 percent below the all-time high of 124.7 recorded in July 2016 and 30.1 percent above the recent low of 94.8 recorded in April 2009.

On a year-to-date basis through November, freight shipments are up 1.5 percent compared to the same period in 2015, with November alone up 2.0 percent annually.

BTS said all freight modes it tracks were up in November except for pipeline, adding that the increase “took place in the context of mixed signals in other economic indicators that often impact transportation, with employment, retail sales, and personal income up in November and industrial production and housing starts down.