Freight TSI in March shows sequential and annual gains, says BTS

The Department of Transportation’sBureau of Transportation Statistics(BTS) reported this week that its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) increased 0.3 percent from February to March.

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 March Freight TSI at 113.7 is 19.9 percent higher than April 2009’s low point of 94.8 during the recession. And it added that the level of freight shipments was 1.3 percent less than the all-time high of 115.2 from December 2011 and at its second highest level since April 2009, preceded only by December 2011.

The Freight TSI in March is up for the fifth straight month, said, BTS, noting, though, that it increased at a slower growth rate than the average index in that period.

Since dropping to 94.8 in April 2009, freight shipments have gone up in 31 of the last 47 months, with a cumulative 19.9 percent increase during that span. On an annual basis, March 2013 freight shipments are up 2.8 percent compared to March 2012.