The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry fell 0.2 percent in June from May, declining after a one month increase, according to the US Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics' (BTS) Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) released Wednesday.
Freight shipments measured by the index were up 1.4 percent in June compared to the end of 2012. June 2013 freight shipments were also up 1.8 percent from June 2012. The Freight TSI fell 0.1 percent in the second quarter, the first quarterly decline since the third quarter of 2012.
The May index was revised to 114.1 from 114.3 in the previous release. Monthly numbers for each month from December through March were also revised, showing slightly lower index levels.
The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments by mode of transportation in tons and ton-miles, which are 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.