December 6, 2006 1:45 PM, EST

Transportation Services Index Unchanged in October

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he U.S. Transportation Department’s transportation services index for October was unchanged from September’s reading, though the freight index declined, DOT said Wednesday.

The overall 110.3 reading followed September’s 1.5% rise, which had followed three monthly declines, DOT said.

The TSI’s freight index fell 0.4% in October, following a 1.3% rise in September.

The full index reading was 0.5% higher than a year earlier, while the freight index was 0.7% below the same month a year ago.

SI 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.

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