The Freight Transportation Services Index, which is based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, fell 0.1 percent in April from March. However, March set a record for an all-time high. The April 2018 index level of 134.3 was 41.7 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession.
The Transportation Services Index is a measure of the month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by the for-hire transportation industries. The April index level was 0.1 percent below the all-time high level of 134.5 in March 2018.
The March index was revised to 134.5 from 130.8 in last month’s release and remains an all-time high. Monthly numbers for January and February were revised up slightly.
The April decrease in the Freight TSI was driven by decreases in air freight and trucking, while water and pipeline increased and rail carloads were stable. The TSI increase took place against a background of mostly positive results for other indicators. The Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production index rose by 0.7 percent in April, with increases in all major industry groups. Personal income grew, but housing starts declined, while the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing index fell to 57.3, indicating decelerating growth.
The 0.1 percent decline in April, from the Freight TSI’s record high level of 134.5 in March, left it 1.4 percent above its level of February 2018, and 1.0 percent above its level of December 2017, the highest level it had reached before 2018. The April index was 41.7 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession.
TSI includes data from 2000 to the present.
