Freight TSI rises for third straight month, reports 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 May to June for its third consecutive increase.

This follows a 0.2 April to May uptick and a 1.3 percent March to April gain, which the largest increase since March 2014.

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.

June’s Freight TSI at 122.3 was 1.1 percent below the all-time high of 123.7 from December 2014 and is 29.1 percent above the recent low of 94.7 recorded in April 2009.

BTS said that the May to June increase was May was broad in terms of mode, with all freight modes growing except for water and rail intermodal, which declined after significant rises in May.  And it added that the June increase was driven by growth in in the mining (including oil and gas well drilling and servicing), utility and manufacturing sectors of the economy.

And from March to June the Freight TSI rose a cumulative 2.2 percent and marked the first time the Freight TSI increased over three straight months going back to December 2014.