DOT Freight Transport Index Drops
The Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index for July declined 2.9% from the same month a year ago, DOT said Wednesday.
The freight TSI fell 0.4% to a 108.5 reading, from June’s 108.9. It was the first year-to-year decrease for the month of July since 2001, DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said in its monthly report.
The freight index is at its lowest level for the month of July since 2003, DOT said. It is 2% lower than July 2005 and 1.5% below the July 2004 level.
The decline was the second straight, the third in four months and left the index 4.1% below its peak of 113.1, set in November 2005, though it is 0.2% higher than its recent low of 108.3, set last November.
The passenger TSI rose 0.1% from June, following a one-month decline, and the combined freight and passenger index dipped 0.2% from June, the second straight monthly decline, DOT said.
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.
