The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry rose 0.2 percent in April from March, rising after a one-month decline, according to the US Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics' (BTS) Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI). The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments by mode of transportation 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.
April 2012 freight shipments rose 2 percent from April 2011 and 16.2 percent from April 2009, during the recession, but remain below the level in April 2008 (110.3) prior to the recession.