Transportation News: DOT reports Freight Transportation Services Index is up 1.6 percent from June to July

Following flat growth from May to June, the United States Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that its Freight Transportation Services Index (Freight TSI) was up 1.6 percent from June to July.

This jump represents the first sequential increase since February and is the biggest monthly gain since January 2008, according to the BTS.

The July Freight TSI at 95.5 outpaces May and June’s matching 94.0, which were the lowest level the Freight TSI hit since June 1997. July falls short of the historic peak of 112.9 from May 2006, and the cumulative 4.8 percent drop over the first seven months of 2009 is the second largest in the past decade, with the 5.9 percent decline over the same time frame in 2000, being the largest, noted the BTS.

Despite the sequential uptick, the current Freight TSI level is the lowest July level it has been since 1997’s 94.8. And the 13.5 percent year-over-year July decrease is its biggest decline for that period in 20 years.

Even though there are indications the recession may be beginning to abate, that has not translated into increased freight volumes on a meaningful level. But U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said it is a step in the right direction.

“The rise in the freight index for the first time since February is a sign that the economic recovery is beginning,” LaHood said in a statement. “Between the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the cash for clunkers program and other actions this Administration has taken, I am hopeful that the economy is starting to turn around. However, despite this tangible sign of progress, we all know that we still have a long way to go. We will redouble our efforts to make sure transportation infrastructure is one of the drivers for the future.”

The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by the for-hire transportation industries, and it includes data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines, and air freight.

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