BTS reports June Freight TSI is down 0.1 percent from May

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) was down 0.1 percent from May to June, following flat growth 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 June Freight TSI at 109.5 is 16.1 percent higher than April 2009’s low point of 94.3 during the recession and is down 3.9 percent from the December 2011 reading of 114.0, which represents the all-time high since BTS first began collecting data in 1990.

And since April 2009, BTS said that freight shipments have risen in 24 of the last 38 months, increasing by a cumulative 6.1 percent during that time.

BTS officials said that the Freight TSI remained stable in the second quarter of 2012, continuing a pattern of little change since January, adding that this appears to reflect the rate of growth in the general economy. Rail and truck freight grew in June, but were offset by decline in shipments using other modes, notably waterborne freight, which may be due to the impact of low water conditions on the Mississippi River system, said BTS.

June’s Freight TSI reading were at the seventh highest monthly level since the July 2008, when the recession was first taking hold.

On an annual basis, the June Freight TSI is up 1.6 percent compared to June 2011.