The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), which is based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, rose 0.2 percent in May from April, rising for the second consecutive month, according to the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS). The May 2016 index level (121.8) was 28.6 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession.
The level of freight shipments in May measured by the Freight TSI (121.8) was 1.5 percent below the all-time high level of 123.7 in December 2014.
The April to May Freight TSI increase of 0.2 percent was due to growth in all freight modes except trucking and air freight, which declined. See numbers for individual modes. The increase took place as the Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production index declined by 0.4 percent in May, after rising by 0.6 percent in April.