DOT’s Transportation Services Index Rises in April

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he Transportation Department’s transportation services index for April rose 0.1% from March, though the index’s freight component fell, DOT said Tuesday.

The April reading was the second increase following three straight declines and was the third increase in the past eight months.

he April freight index fell 0.5%, while declining 1.3% from a year earlier.

he full index reading of 111.2 was 0.3% below a year earlier, the first decline for an April year-over-year comparison in four years, DOT said. March had also seen the first such decline.

For the first three months of 2006, the TSI gained 0.6%, the third straight January-to-April gain.

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.