The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) headed up 0.8 percent from October to November, showing a sequential gain for the fifth straight month.
At 123.2, the Freight TSI was 30 percent above April 2009’s low of 94.6, which was during the depths of the recession.
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 is up 3.5 percent annually through the first 11 months of 2014 and is 3.5 percent higher in November 2014 compared to November 2013. BTS said freight shipments are up 21.8 percent since November 2009 and up 10.1 percent going back to November 2004.