The Freight Transportation Services Index was up for the second straight month in August, gaining 0.7 percent from its July level
, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. In July, the index saw its first monthly increase since February.

"The continued rise of the freight transportation service index is evidence that America is moving towards economic recovery," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a statement. "The impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other actions taken by this administration are only beginning to be felt around the nation, but economic data like this should give us hope that our worst days are behind us."

"However, there is still a long road ahead and we will not let this positive sign lull us into complacency. This administration remains committed to investing in transportation in order to insure a prosperous future."

The indicator has now seen four straight months without a decline, after dropping in nine of the previous 12 months. This is the first four-month period without a decline in the index since 2002.

The Freight TSI landed at 96.2 in August, up from the recent low of 93.6 in April, when it reached its lowest level since June 1997. The index is down 14.8 percent from its historic peak of 112.9 in May 2006.

The freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by the for-hire freight transportation industries. The index consists of data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.

For additional historical data, visit www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml.