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 September from the revised August level, rising after remaining unchanged in the previous month, according to the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). The September 2015 index level (123.4) was 30.3 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession.
The level of freight shipments in September measured by the Freight TSI (123.4) was 0.1 percent below the all-time high level of 123.5 in November 2014. BTS’ TSI records begin in 2000. The August index was revised to 123.2 from 123.5 in last month’s release.
As for the third-quarter as a whole, the Freight TSI increased by 1.0 percent, the largest quarterly increase since the third quarter of 2014. The Freight TSI increase was limited to fewer modes than it has been in many previous months – trucking, air freight and pipeline showed significant gains, while rail carload, rail intermodal and waterborne decreased. While there was a decline in the Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production index, which TSI often tracks, other indicators of the general economy – employment, personal income, and housing starts – all increased.