The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry remained unchanged in July from June, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Freight Transportation Services Index released Sept. 14.
BTS reported freight shipments in July, measured by the Freight TSI, remained at the second highest level since August 2008, exceeded only by March and equaled by June. The July index was 3.8 percent higher than July 2010.
This year through July, freight shipments measured by the index were up 1.3 percent over the previous year.
Freight shipments have increased in 18 of the last 27 months but only in eight of the last 15 months.
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 air freight.