Freight TSI drops from October to November, reports BTS

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) dropped 1.0 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.

The November Freight TSI at 122.3 was 1.1 percent below the all-time high of 123.7 recorded in November 2014. The November Freight TSI was 1.2 percent less than October’s 123.5, which BTS downwardly revised from its original reading of 123.2.

BTS said the November Freight TSI is up 29.1 percent compared to the recent low of 94.7 recorded in April 2009.

BTS said that the Freight TSI decrease was unusually broad in terms of mode – all freight modes decreased and said it appears to have been driven by weakness in the mining (including oil and gas well drilling and servicing) and manufacturing sectors of the economy. The Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production index declined in November by 0.6 percent, and the ISM Manufacturing Index was below 50, indicating declining manufacturing activity.  Elevated inventory to sales ratios may have also played a role.

And since February 2015 BTS said the Freight TSI has not had two consecutive months of either growth or decline. November 2015 was no exception, as the index decreased by 1.0 percent, leaving it 0.3 percent below its September level.