The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry fell 1 percent in April from March, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Freight Transportation Services Index. The April decrease followed a rise in March.


DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that shipments measured by the Freight TSI rose 14 percent over the last 24 months, starting in May 2009, after falling 15.7 percent in the previous 15 months beginning in February 2008.

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.

Freight shipments have increased in 17 of the last 24 months. In April 2011, freight shipments returned to about the same level as September 2008 when the amount of freight shipped was early in its decline.

For the first four months of 2011, freight shipments measured by the index were up 0.6 percent.

For the full year 2010, freight shipments increased 6.2 percent, revised from 6.4 percent reported in previous releases. For the fourth quarter of 2010, freight shipments increased 1.9 percent, revised from 2.1 percent.

Freight shipments are down 2.8 percent in the five years from April 2006. Shipments are up 9.2 percent in the 10 years from April 2001 despite recent declines.