Freight TSI sees gains for the third consecutive month, reports BTS

The United States Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) recently reported that its Freight Transportation Services Index (Freight TSI) saw a slight increase in November, the most recent month for which data is available.

According to BTS officials, the Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments in ton-miles, which are then combined into one index. The index measures the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and consists of data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and airfreight.

The November reading—at 136.9—marked the third straight of gains, following fourth months of declines, said BTS, with the Freight TSI up 3.0% annually compared to November 2020, which was off 3.9% compared to November 2019. And BTS observed it is off 1.0% from November 2019’s pre-pandemic reading, at 138.3. BTS said that November’s reading is off 3.6% compared to the August 2019 all-time reading, at 142.0 and has subsequently seen gains of 13 of the last 27 months through November 2021.

On a sequential basis, the Freight TSI headed up 0.6%, from October to November, with BTS attributing the gain to seasonally-adjusted increases in trucking, air freight, and water, coupled with decreases in pipeline, rail carloads, and rail intermodal.

The Freight TSI has seen gains in five of the last nine months through November 2021, with a net increase of 2.7% over a nine-month stretch from February 2021 through November 2021. And it is up 9.3% compared to the April 2020 pandemic low.

On a year-to-date basis through November 2021, the Freight TSI is up 1.4% compared to the end of 2020.