DOT Freight Index Unchanged in September
The Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index for September was unchanged from a year ago but fell 2.5% from its August level, DOT said Thursday.
The freight TSI held at a reading of 108 and was 4.5% below its historic peak of 113.1, set in November 2005, DOT said.
The index has dropped 4.3% in the past two months, dropping to a level equal to the four-year low set in September 2007.
The month-to-month decline was the fifth largest in the last 10 years while August’s 1.9% downturn was the eighth largest.
For the first nine months of 2008, the index fell 0.3%, the fourth consecutive comparable decline, DOT said.
The TSI is a seasonally adjusted monthly index measuring the output of services provided by the for-hire transportation industries, including railroad, air, truck, inland waterways, pipeline and local transit.
