DOT Freight Transportation Index Rises 3%
The Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index rose 3% in March from the same month last year and also increased sequentially.
The freight TSI rose to a reading of 116.7 —just below the all-time high of 117.8 set in November, DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said May 14.
BTS, which uses a baseline reading of 100 from the year 2000, also said it revised the February index downward and the monthly numbers for October through January up slightly.
March was the second month in a row that trucking and rail intermodal were the fastest-growing modes, BTS said.
“The growth in trucking represented continued recovery from unusually severe winter weather that hampered freight shipments in earlier months. Severe weather can affect the demand for goods to ship as well as the ability to move goods,” BTS said.
The freight TSI is a seasonally adjusted monthly gauge measuring the output of services provided by the for-hire transportation industries. They include railroad, air, truck, inland waterways, pipeline and local transit.
