Transportation Services Index Falls in December

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he Department of Transportation said Monday its transportation services index fell 0.2% in December, the first decline after three consecutive monthly increases.

he drop to 127.3 still left the index 5.1% higher than a year earlier, DOT said.

DOT said the freight index fell 0.4% to 128.4 in December, also the first drop after three months of increases. It was 4.5% higher than a year earlier.

The December TSI for passengers rose 0.1% to 125.3 in December from November, DOT said. December’s figure was 6.6% over the previous December, DOT said.

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.

The index includes data dating back to 1990, with changes measured against the base year of 1996. DOT said TSI is still under development and is considered experimental.