DOT’s Transportation Index Falls; Freight Index Gains

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he Transportation Department’s transportation services index fell 0.1% in January from December, but the index’s freight component rose, DOT said Tuesday.

The TSI for freight rose 0.5% in January from the December level, DOT said. Compared with the previous January, it declined 0.5%.

he January level of 111.3 for the combined freight and passenger index was 0.3% lower than the January 2005 level, the first decline for a January from a previous year since 2002.

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.

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.