The U.S. Department of Transportation's Freight Transportation Services Index fell 0.3 percent in November from its October level, declining after two monthly increases.


The DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports the Freight TSI rose 5.4 percent over the last 18 months, starting in June 2009, after falling 15.3 percent in the previous 10 months beginning in August 2008. The index has increased in 14 of the last 18 months.

Through the first 11 months of 2010, the index dropped 1.0 percent. With next month's release, BTS will conduct a comprehensive revision. The revision will result in changes to the 2010 numbers, especially for those months that have not undergone the monthly revision and are currently classified as preliminary.

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.

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.