The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) dropped 1.7 percent from January to February.
At 120.4, the Freight TSI was 27.3 percent above April 2009’s low of 94.6, which was during the depths of the recession. It was 2.4 percent below November’s 123.3, which is the historic peak for the Freight TSI since this data was first made available in 2000, according to BTS.
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.
On a year-to-date basis, the Freight TSI was down 1.7 percent compared to the end of 2014.
BTS said that the Freight TSI’s February drop marks the second time it has fallen in the last three months after three months of gains. And it added that the Freight TSI is at its lowest point than at any time since June 2014.
BTS noted that a large decline in rail carloads, rail intermodal, coupled with smaller declines in trucking and water resulted in the decline in the overall freight index in February, despite an increase in pipeline.
“Unusual winter weather played a role in much of this decline in transportation related economic activity,” said BTS. “Transportation may also have been impacted by labor issues at West Coast ports.