Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) Rose 0.9% in March from February

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Dave Smallen
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Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) rose 0.9 percent in March from its February level, rising for the third consecutive month, the U.S. Department of Transportations Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today (Table 1). The March Freight TSI rose 2.6 percent from March 2009, the first year-to-year increase in the freight index since July 2008 (Table 4).

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the Freight TSI index has risen 4.5 percent over the last 10 months, starting in June, after declining 15.3 percent in the previous 10 months beginning in August 2008. The index has increased in eight of the last 10 months (Table 2). The index started 2010 with an increase of 1.6 percent in the first three months (Table 3). For additional historic data, go to http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml.

The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments in ton-miles, which are then combined into one index. The index measures the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and consists of data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.

The March Freight TSI of 97.8 is a 4.5 percent increase from the recent low of 93.5 reached in May 2009. In May, the index was at its lowest level since June 1997. The Freight TSI is down 13.4 percent from its historic peak of 112.9 reached in May 2006.

Although the index rose 2.6 percent from March 2009 to March 2010, it still remains below the March level of all the previous years since 1997. The 13.2 percent decline from March 2008 to March 2009 left the Freight TSI at its lowest level for March since March 1997 when it was 90.8 (Table 4).

The freight index is down 12.5 percent in the five years from March 2005. The index is down 1.9 percent in the 10 years from March 2000 (Table 5).

The TSI is a seasonally adjusted index that measures changes from the monthly average of the base year of 2000. It includes historic data from 1990 to the present. Release of the April index is scheduled for June 9.

For a video explanation of the TSI, see Overview of the Transportation Services Index. For a BTS report explaining the TSI, Transportation Services Index and the Economy is available for download in the BTS bookstore.

Transportation Services Index for Passengers

The TSI for passengers rose 1.6 percent in March from its February level (Table 6). The Passenger TSI March 2010 level of 109.5 was 0.9 percent above the March 2009 level, following a one-year decline. The 7.3 percent decrease from March 2008 to March 2009 was the largest March-to-March decrease in the 20-year history of the TSI (Table 7). The index is up 0.7 percent in five years and up 10.6 percent in 10 years (Table 5).

The passenger TSI measures the month-to-month changes in travel conducted in the for-hire passenger transportation sector. The seasonally adjusted index consists of data from air, local transit and intercity rail.

Combined Freight and Passenger Index

The combined freight and passenger TSI rose 1.1 percent in March from its February level (Table 8). The combined TSI March 2010 level of 100.4 was 2.2 percent higher than the March 2009 level for the first March-to-March increase in three years (Table 9). The combined index is down 9.4 percent in five years, but despite recent declines, is up 0.9 percent in 10 years (Table 5). The combined TSI merges the freight and passenger indexes into a single index.

1st Quarter Changes

The Freight TSI rose 1.6 percent in the first quarter, for only the sixth quarterly increase in the past 20 quarters but the second in the last three quarters (Table 10). The Passenger TSI rose 1.2 percent in the first quarter, rising after one quarterly decline (Table 11). The combined TSI rose 1.5 percent in the first quarter, rising after one quarterly decrease (Table 12).

More on TSI

NOTE: TSI numbers for November (Freight, Passenger and Combined) were revised because of revisions in the output data of the component transportation services. The November Freight TSI is 98.4, revised from the 96.2 reported in last months release. The November Passenger TSI is 110.1, revised from 108.8. The November Combined TSI is 101.0, revised from 99.0. The TSI for December, January, February and March are preliminary.

TSI revision policy: TSI is updated monthly with the latest four months index numbers considered preliminary. Each month BTS releases the latest preliminary TSI, and replaces the oldest preliminary TSI with a revised TSI. More information about the monthly revision policy, is available at http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml.

More information about the comprehensive revision conducted with the July release is provided under 2009 Comprehensive Revision at http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml.