Freight Transportation Services Index sees slight gain, says BTS

The United States Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) eked out a slight increase in July, the most recent month for which data is available, up 0.3%, to 128.9, compared to June’s 128.5, which was revised from an initial reading of 128.3.

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.

BTS attributed the July increase to growth in rail carload, intermodal, water, and pipeline, adding that the increase took place against the backdrop of growth in other indicators, including the ISM Manufacturing Index and the Federal Reserve Board’s Industrial Production Index. 

July marked the third consecutive month of Freight TSI gains, following three months of declines, said BTS, adding it was down 7.8% annually, whereas it was up 2.9% annually in July 2019 and 5.8% in July 2018.  The Freight TSI is 5.3% below its pre-pandemic level in February and 5.8% below its recent peak in January.

What’s more, BTS added that the Freight TSI is 8.8% below its all-time high recorded in August 2019, at 141.3, and also below the levels of each month from October 2017 to March 2020 for the fourth month in a row. And it is up 35.8% compared to the April 2009 low of 94.9.