DOT Freight Transport Index Rises 4.1%
The Department of Transportation said Wednesday its freight transportation services index rose 4.1% in June from a year ago.
The index’s reading of 108.3 was the second-highest since August 2008, topped only by March of this year. DOT uses a baseline reading of 100 from the year 2000.
The freight TSI was below the early recession level from June 2008 of 109.7, and the TSI’s all-time high for June of 111.9, set in 2006.
The index rose 2.6% from May, following two comparative declines, DOT’s Bureau of Trade Statistics said in its monthly report.
Freight shipments were 14.9% over the recent low of 94.3 in April 2009, when they were at their lowest level since June 1997. June’s reading is 4.4% below the index’s historic peak of 113.3, set in January 2005.
The freight 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.
