For-Hire Freight Shipments Hit Highest Level of 2015

A measure of the amount of freight moved by for-hire transportation in the U.S. rebounded following a one-month decline, according to new U.S. Transportation Department figures.

Its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), rose 0.4% in October from September, rising after being downwardly revised for a 0.3% drop in September from the month before, while monthly numbers for June through August were also revised down slightly.

This improvement in October pushed the index to 123.2, just 0.2% below the all-time high level of 123.5 in November 2014 and 30.1% above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession.

Freight shipments measured by the index were up 0.5% in October compared to the end of 2014 while October 2015 freight shipments were up 0.7% from a year earlier.

The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in 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 index does not include international or coastal waterborne movements, private trucking, courier services, or the U.S. Postal Service.