Freight TSI heads up from June to July, says BTS

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) increased 0.6 percent from June to July, following a 0.3 percent decline from May to June.

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.

At 122.8, the Freight TSI was 29.7 percent above April 2009’s low of 94.6, which was during the depths of the recession. And it was 0.5 percent below last November’s 123.4, which is the historic peak for the Freight TSI since this data was first made available in 2000, according to BTS.

BTS attributed the 0.6 percent June to July increase to “broad economic growth in July that was reflected in several measures that impact transportation, including the Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production index seeing a 0.6 percent gain, as well as gains in personal income, employment, and housing starts. Also factoring into the increase, said BTS, were significant gains in trucking and rail carloads and a smaller increase in air freight, while water, pipeline, and rail intermodal saw declines.

On a year-to-date basis through June, shipments are up 0.2 percent in July compared to the end of 2014.