Freight Shipments Rose 0.5% in February from January
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Freight Transportation Services Index, Month of February 1990-2012
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Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry rose 0.5 percent in February from January, rising after a one-month decline, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS) Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) released today (Table 1).
BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the level of freight shipments measured by the Freight TSI, 110.3, declined from December 2011's mark of 113.7 which was the all-time high since 1990 when BTS' TSI records began (Table 2A). See historical TSI data.
The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments by mode of transportation 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.
Trend: Shipments in February 2012 (110.3) were at the second highest level since the early recession month of April 2008 despite the 3.0 percent decline from December 2011 (113.7 on the index), which was the highest level in the 22-year history of the series. After dipping to a recent low in April 2009 (94.3), freight shipments increased in 23 of the last 34 months, rising 16.9 percent during that period (Tables 2, 2A). For additional historical data, go to http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml.
Index highs and lows: Freight shipments in February 2012 (110.3 on the index) rose 16.9 percent from the recent low in April 2009 during the recession (94.3). In April 2009, freight shipments were at their lowest level since June 1997 (92.3). The February 2012 level is down 3.0 percent from the historic freight shipment peak reached in December 2011 (113.7).
Long-term trend: Freight shipments are up 1.8 percent in the five years from February 2007 and up 11.1 percent in the 10 years from February 2002 despite declines in recent years (Table 5).
Same month of previous year: February 2012 freight shipments rose 3.6 percent from February 2011 and 10.5 percent from February 2009 but remain below the level of February 2008 (111.6) (Tables 4, 5).
The TSI is a seasonally adjusted index that measures changes from the monthly average of the base year of 2000. It includes historic data from 1990 to the present. Release of the March index is scheduled for May 9.
For a webinar on the TSI, see Past Webinars. For a video explanation of the TSI, see Overview of the Transportation Services Index. A BTS report explaining the TSI, Transportation Services Index and the Economy, is available for download.
Passenger Index: The TSI for passengers fell 0.3 percent in February from its January level (Table 6). The Passenger TSI February 2012 level of 116.1 was 2.5 percent above the February 2011 level (Table 7). The index is up 2.1 percent in five years and up 24.6 percent in 10 years (Table 5).
The passenger TSI measures the month-to-month changes in travel conducted in the for-hire passenger transportation sector. The seasonally adjusted index consists of data from air, local transit and intercity rail.
Combined Index: The combined freight and passenger TSI rose 0.3 percent in February from its January level (Table 8). The combined TSI February 2012 level of 111.8 was 3.3 percent above the February 2011 level (Table 9). The combined index is up 1.9 percent in five years and up 14.8 percent in 10 years despite recent declines (Table 5). The combined TSI merges the freight and passenger indexes into a single index.
Revisions: TSI numbers for October (Freight, Passenger and Combined) were revised because of revisions in the output data of the component transportation services. The October Freight TSI is 108.8, revised from 109.4 reported in last month’s release. The October Passenger TSI is 114.8 revised from 116.1. The October Combined TSI is 110.4, revised from 111.2. The TSI for November, December, January and February are preliminary.
TSI revision policy: TSI is updated monthly with the latest four months’ index numbers considered preliminary. Each month BTS releases the latest preliminary TSI, and replaces the oldest preliminary TSI with a revised TSI. More information about the monthly revision policy, is available at http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml
More information about the comprehensive revision conducted with the March release is provided under 2011 Comprehensive Revision at http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml.
Table 1: Freight,
Passenger and Combined Transportation Services Indexes since August 2011
Percent Change by
Month
(Seasonally Adjusted,
Monthly Average of 2000 = 100)
| Freight | Passenger | Combined | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Pct. Change | Index | Pct. Change | Index | Pct. Change | |
| August | 108.0 | 0.4 | 113.6 | -1.2 | 109.5 | -0.1 |
| September | 109.1 | 1.1 | 115.2 | 1.4 | 110.7 | 1.2 |
| OctoberR | 108.8 | -0.3 | 114.8 | -0.4 | 110.4 | -0.3 |
| NovemberP | 109.5 | 0.6 | 115.6 | 0.7 | 111.1 | 0.7 |
| DecemberP | 113.7 | 3.9 | 116.3 | 0.6 | 114.4 | 2.9 |
| JanuaryP | 109.7 | -3.6 | 116.4 | 0.1 | 111.5 | -2.5 |
| FebruaryP | 110.3 | 0.5 | 116.1 | -0.3 | 111.8 | 0.3 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
NOTE: P = preliminary; R = revised
NOTE: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
Table 2: Freight
Transportation Services Index Monthly Changes, 2009-2012
Percent change from
previous month
| 2009 % Change | 2010 % Change | 2011 % Change | 2012 % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -2.4 | 0.5 | 1.0 | (P) -3.6 |
| February | 2.8 | 1.1 | -1.4 | (P) 0.5 |
| March | -4.0 | 1.2 | 2.0 | |
| April | -1.6 | 0.1 | -1.0 | |
| May | 0.3 | 0.5 | -2.1 | |
| June | 1.0 | -0.1 | 2.5 | |
| July | 1.6 | 0.3 | -0.2 | |
| August | 1.5 | -0.4 | 0.4 | |
| September | -0.5 | 1.1 | 1.1 | |
| October | -0.7 | 0.2 | (R) -0.3 | |
| November | 2.9 | -0.7 | (P) 0.6 | |
| December | 0.6 | 2.4 | (P) 3.9 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
NOTE: P = preliminary; R = revised
Table 2A: Freight Transportation Services Index by Month, 2009-2012
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 97.1 | 101.1 | 107.9 | (P) 109.7 |
| February | 99.8 | 102.3 | 106.4 | (P) 110.3 |
| March | 95.9 | 103.6 | 108.6 | |
| April | 94.3 | 103.7 | 107.4 | |
| May | 94.6 | 104.2 | 105.2 | |
| June | 95.5 | 104.0 | 107.8 | |
| July | 97.1 | 104.3 | 107.6 | |
| August | 98.5 | 103.9 | 108.0 | |
| September | 98.0 | 105.0 | 109.1 | |
| October | 97.3 | 105.2 | (R) 108.8 | |
| November | 100.1 | 104.4 | (P) 109.5 | |
| December | 100.7 | 106.9 | (P) 113.7 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
NOTE: P = preliminary; R = revised
Table 3: Freight,
Passenger and Combined Transportation Services Indexes Year-to-Date Change, 2003-2012
Percent change from December 2011 to February 2012
| Year | Freight | Passenger | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | -2.2 | -2.4 | -2.2 |
| 2004 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 2.3 |
| 2005 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.4 |
| 2006 | -1.5 | 1.2 | -0.7 |
| 2007 | -1.4 | -0.4 | -1.1 |
| 2008 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
| 2009 | 0.4 | -0.5 | 0.1 |
| 2010 | 1.6 | -1.6 | 0.7 |
| 2011 | -0.5 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| 2012P | -3.0 | -0.1 | -2.2 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
NOTE: P = preliminary
Table 4: Freight
Transportation Services Index from Year-to-Year
Percent Change in the
February Freight TSI
(Monthly average of
2000 = 100)
| February Freight TSI | Percent change from same month previous year | |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 102.1 | 2.9 |
| 2004 | 109.7 | 7.4 |
| 2005 | 111.6 | 1.8 |
| 2006 | 109.8 | -1.6 |
| 2007 | 108.3 | -1.4 |
| 2008 | 111.6 | 3.0 |
| 2009 | 99.8 | -10.5 |
| 2010 | 102.3 | 2.5 |
| 2011 | 106.4 | 4.0 |
| 2012P | 110.3 | 3.6 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
NOTE: P = preliminary
NOTE: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
Table 5:
Transportation Services Indexes from Previous Years
Percent Change to 2011 (February to February)
| Since February... | Duration in years | Freight TSI Percent change to February 2012 | Passenger TSI Percent change to February 2012 | Combined TSI Percent change to February 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 3.3 |
| 2010 | 2 | 7.8 | 7.2 | 7.7 |
| 2009 | 3 | 10.5 | 5.4 | 9.0 |
| 2008 | 4 | -1.2 | -2.0 | -1.4 |
| 2007 | 5 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 1.9 |
| 2006 | 6 | 0.4 | 5.1 | 1.7 |
| 2005 | 7 | -1.2 | 7.5 | 1.2 |
| 2004 | 8 | 0.5 | 12.4 | 3.8 |
| 2003 | 9 | 8.0 | 22.0 | 11.8 |
| 2002 | 10 | 11.1 | 24.6 | 14.8 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
NOTE: The percent changes to February 2012 are all preliminary.
Table 6: Passenger
Transportation Services Index Monthly Changes, 2009-2012
Percent change from
previous month
| 2009 % Change | 2010 % Change | 2011 % Change | 2012 % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -1.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | (P) 0.1 |
| February | 0.5 | -2.1 | -0.2 | (P) -0.3 |
| March | -1.4 | 2.3 | 0.9 | |
| April | 1.4 | 0.2 | -0.1 | |
| May | -1.7 | 0.6 | 1.2 | |
| June | 0.5 | 0.8 | -0.6 | |
| July | 1.5 | -0.2 | 0.1 | |
| August | -0.1 | 0.2 | -1.2 | |
| September | -0.6 | 1.0 | 1.4 | |
| October | 0.1 | 0.9 | (R) -0.4 | |
| November | -0.1 | -0.3 | (P) 0.7 | |
| December | 0.2 | -1.0 | (P) 0.6 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
NOTE: P = preliminary; R = revised
Table 7: Passenger
Transportation Services Index from Year-to-Year
Percent change in the
February Passenger TSI
(Monthly average of
2000 = 100)
| February Passenger TSI | Percent change from same month previous year | |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 95.2 | 2.1 |
| 2004 | 103.3 | 8.6 |
| 2005 | 108.1 | 4.6 |
| 2006 | 110.4 | 2.2 |
| 2007 | 113.8 | 3.0 |
| 2008 | 118.5 | 4.1 |
| 2009 | 110.2 | -7.0 |
| 2010 | 108.3 | -1.7 |
| 2011 | 113.3 | 4.7 |
| 2012P | 116.1 | 2.5 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
NOTE: P = preliminary
NOTE: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
Table 8: Combined Transportation
Services Index Monthly Changes, 2009-2012
Percent change from
previous month
| 2009 % Change | 2010 % Change | 2011 % Change | 2012 % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -2.0 | 0.5 | 0.7 | (P) -2.5 |
| February | 2.2 | 0.2 | -1.1 | (P) 0.3 |
| March | -3.3 | 1.5 | 1.7 | |
| April | -0.8 | 0.1 | -0.8 | |
| May | -0.3 | 0.5 | -1.2 | |
| June | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.6 | |
| July | 1.6 | 0.1 | -0.1 | |
| August | 1.1 | -0.2 | -0.1 | |
| September | -0.5 | 1.0 | 1.2 | |
| October | -0.5 | 0.4 | (R) -0.3 | |
| November | 2.1 | -0.6 | (P) 0.7 | |
| December | 0.5 | 1.5 | (P) 2.9 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
NOTE: P = preliminary; R = revised
Table 9: Combined Transportation
Services Index from Year-to-Year
Percent change in the
February Combined TSI
(Monthly average of
2000 = 100)
| February Freight TSI | Percent change from same month previous year | |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 100.0 | 2.7 |
| 2004 | 107.7 | 7.7 |
| 2005 | 110.5 | 2.6 |
| 2006 | 109.9 | -0.5 |
| 2007 | 109.7 | -0.2 |
| 2008 | 113.4 | 3.4 |
| 2009 | 102.5 | -9.6 |
| 2010 | 103.9 | 1.3 |
| 2011 | 108.2 | 4.2 |
| 2012P | 111.8 | 3.3 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
NOTE: P = preliminary
NOTE: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
Brief Explanation of the TSI
The Transportation Services Index (TSI) is a measure of the month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by the for-hire transportation industries. The freight index measure changes in freight shipments while the passenger index measures changes in passenger travel.
The TSI tells us how the output of transportation services has increased or decreased from month to month. The index can be examined together with other economic indicators to produce a better understanding of the current and future course of the economy. The movement of the index over time can be compared with other economic measures to understand the relationship of changes in transportation output to changes in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The freight transportation index consists of:
For-hire
trucking,
Railroad
freight services
(including rail based intermodal shipments such as containers on flat cars),
Inland
waterways transportation,
Pipeline
transportation (including principally petroleum and petroleum products and
natural gas), and
Air
freight.
The index does not include international or coastal waterborne movements, private trucking, courier services, or the US Postal Service.
The passenger transportation index consists of:
Local
transit,
Intercity
passenger rail, and
Passenger
air transportation.
The index does not include intercity bus, sight seeing services, ferry services, taxi service, private automobile usage, or bicycling and other non-motorized transportation.