The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) was flat 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 May TSI at 109.6 was unchanged from April and is 16.3 percent higher than April 2009’s low point during the recession. It is also down 3.8 percent from the December 2011 reading of 114.0, which represents the all-time high since BTS first began collecting data in 1990.
BTS officials said that the Freight TSI has shown little change since dropping in January from its December peak, with the recent slowing down in the Freight TSI reflecting “slowing growth in the general economy.”
May’s Freight TSI reading were at the fifth highest monthly level since the July 2008, when the recession was first taking hold.
On an annual basis, the May Freight TSI is up 4.3 percent compared to May 2011.