(The following story by Thomas L. Gallagher appeared on The Journal of Commerce website on February 18, 2010.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Freight Transportation Services Index indicated a stabilizing market as it remained unchanged at 96.2 in December, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported Thursday.
The index, which 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, held steady after November’s 1.8 percent increase brought it to 2.9 percent above the low point of 93.5 reached in May.
The Freight TSI declined 4.1 percent during 2009 but increased 2.9 percent over the last seven months of the year, beginning in June.
In May, the index was at its lowest level since June 1997. The Freight TSI is down 14.8 percent from its historic peak of 112.9 reached in May 2006.