DOT Freight Transport Index Improves

The Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index rose 4.8% in April from a year ago, marking the second consecutive increase.

The 2.6% gain in March had marked the index’s first year-to-year increase since July 2008.

The index improved 0.3% in April from March, marking the third straight month-to-month gain, DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said in its monthly report.

The freight TSI reading of 98.1 is up 4.9% from the recent low of 93.5 reached in May 2009, when it was at its lowest level since mid-1997.

The index is down 13.1% from its historic peak of 112.9, reached in May 2006.

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.