May 9, 2006 2:00 PM, EDT

DOT’s Transportation Services Index Rises 0.8%

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he Transportation Department’s transportation services index rose 0.8% in March from February, and the index’s freight component also increased, DOT said Tuesday.

The reading turned around three straight declines and was just the second increase in the past seven months.

he March freight index rose 0.2% from February, while it dipped 0.8% from a year earlier.

he full index reading of 111 was 0.5% below a year earlier, the first decline for a March-to-March comparison in four years, DOT said.

For the first three months of 2006, the TSI declined 0.2%, the first decline in the three-month period since 2003.

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.