BTS reports Freight TSI is up in September from August

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported on Wednesday that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) increased 0.9 percent from in September from August.

This follows a 0.4 percent gain from July to August, flat growth from June to July, a 2.6 percent gain from May to June, and a 1.8 percent decline from April to May.

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 August Freight TSI at 109.7 is its highest level since July 2008, which hit 109.9 and was followed by six straight months of declines. And after falling to a recent low level of 94.3 in April 2009, freight shipment levels have been up in 20 of the last 28 months, said BTS.

On an annual basis, the September Freight TSI reading of 109.6 is up 4.4 percent compared to September 2010 and 11.9 percent from September 2009, which are all below the all-time September high of 111.2 from 2006. For the first nine months of 2011freight shipments as measured by the Freight TSI are up 2.5 percent.

Freight shipments in September are up 16.2 percent from the recent low in April 2009 at 94.3, which were at the lowest level since June 1997 at 92.3. September is down 3.3 percent from the historic freight shipment peak in January 2005 at 113.3.