BTS reports Freight TSI is down sequentially and up annually

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) decreased for the second straight month, falling 2.8 percent from December to January.

According to BTS officials, 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 BTS said that the January Freight TSI at 113.6 is 3.5 percent below November 2013’s all-time high of 117.6 an 19.8 percent above the most recent low of 94.8 recorded in April 2009.

BTS said that the index for each freight mode within the Freight TSI dipped in January, with trucking marking the steepest decline, as the “severe winter weather, which particularly hit the heavily populated areas of the country,” making an impact.

The BTS dropped for the second straight month for the first time since October 2012, and while it is at its lowest point since April 2013, it is still higher than any other month prior to March 2013, with the exception of December 2011. And since falling to April 2009’s 94.8, the Freight TSI has risen a cumulative 19.8 percent in the subsequent 57 months.

On an annual basis, the January Freight TSI is up 1.3 percent.