June Freight Transportation Services Index hits new all-time high, reports BTS

The United States Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) recently reported that its Freight Transportation Services Index (Freight TSI) hit an all-time high in June, the most recent month for which data is available.

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 airfreight.

June’s Freight TSI reading—at 142.4—topped May’s 140.0 (downwardly revised from an original reading of 140.1), for its highest reading since BTS began tracking it in 2000. This tops the previous high, of 142.0 set in August 2019 after increasing in 19 of the 34 months since that earlier peak, according to BTS.

BTS officials attributed June’s gains to seasonally-adjusted increases in trucking, rail carloads, air freight, and water, with rail intermodal and pipeline falling.

And BTS added that this increase was in tandem with a series of negative results for various economic indicators, including: the Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production (IP) Index declined by 0.2% in June, reflecting decreases of 0.5% in manufacturing and 1.4% in utilities, while mining grew by 1.7%; housing starts were down 2.0% while personal income increased by 0.6%; and the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing (ISM) index was down 3.1 points to 53.0, indicating slowing growth in manufacturing.

June’s increase represented the ninth month-over-month increase over the last ten months, for a cumulative 6.0% increase going back to June 2021. And it is 13.6% above the April 2020 pandemic low. BTS added that the Freight TSI has seen gains in 18 of the last 26 months, dating back to the April 2020 low.

BTS said that June’s reading is 49.9% higher than the April 2009 low, which was during the recession. And on a year-to-date basis, for-hire shipments measured by the index rose 3.7% in June compared to the end of 2021, with for-hire shipments up 12.8% over the five-year period, from June 2017 and up 25.0% going back to June 2012. The June Freight TSI is up 4.6% compared to June 2021.