Freight Index Rose 0.4% in January from December

The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) rose 0.4 percent in January from its December 2009 level, rising after the index was unchanged in December, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the Freight TSI index has risen 3.3 percent over the last eight months, starting in June. It has increased in six of the last eight months.  The index started 2010 with an increase in January, after having declined 4.1 percent during 2009 and 12.4 percent in two years. For additional historic data, go to http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml

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 January Freight TSI of 96.6 is a 3.3 percent increase from the recent low of 93.5 reached in May.  In May, the index was at its lowest level since June 1997. The Freight TSI is down 14.4 percent from its historic peak of 112.9 reached in May 2006.

See Freight TSI Press Release for summary tables and additional data. See Transportation Services Index for historic data and methodology.