The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), which is based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, rose 1.1% in August from July, rising for the first month this quarter, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). From August 2023 to August 2024 the index rose 1%).
The level of for-hire freight shipments in August measured by the Freight TSI was 1.1% below the all-time high of 141.5 reached in August 2019.
“The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in for-hire freight shipments by mode of transportation in tons and ton-miles, which are 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 air freight. The TSI is seasonally adjusted to remove regular seasonal movement, which enables month-to-month comparisons,” according to TSI.
Key takeaways:
- The Freight TSI increased in August due to seasonally adjusted increases in water, rail carload, rail intermodal, trucking, and air freight while pipeline declined. The August increase came in the context of growth in several other indicators. The Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production (IP) Index grew by 0.8% in August, reflecting growth of 0.9% in manufacturing and 0.8% in mining while utilities were unchanged.
- The Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing (ISM) index was up 0.4 points to 47.2. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion of U.S. manufacturing, while a reading below 50 indicates a contraction.
- The August freight index increase was the first since May and the second in four months, leaving the index 3.4% above its level in April. The index increased 5.3% since August 2021. The August Freight TSI exceeds the pandemic low in April 2020 by 12.6%; the index increased month-over-month in 30 of the 52 months since that low.
- For-hire freight shipments in August were 47.1% higher than the low in April 2009 during the recession. The August level was 1.1% below the historic peak (since 2000) reached in August 2019.
- For-hire freight shipments measured by the index were up 1% in August compared to the end of 2023.
- For-hire freight shipments are down 1.1% in the five years from August 2019 and are up 15.7% in the 10 years from August 2014.
