DOT Freight Transportation Index Rebounds
The Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index rebounded in November from October, matching its year-ago level, DOT said Wednesday.
The freight TSI rose 1.7% month-to-month, in part due to a rebound following Hurricane Sandy, which had depressed rail and truck freight traffic. Both trucking and rail freight showed large gains in November, DOT said.
The November index reading was 108.9, matching the reading from November 2011. The index uses a baseline 100 reading from the year 2000.
Since peaking last December at a reading of 114 — the highest level in its 22-year history — the index remained in a narrow band through the first 11 months of 2012, except for October’s drop to 107.1, which was the lowest level since May 2011.
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.
