US Oct 2023 freight TSI up 0.1% from Sep figure, down 0.9% YoY: BTS

13 Dec '23

2 min read

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Insights

The US freight transportation services index rose by 0.1 per cent in October from September, rising marginally after remaining at the same level for two consecutive months.
The rise was the fourth month in a row, and was attributed to seasonally-adjusted rises in air freight, water, trucking and rail intermodal.
The index fell by 0.9 per cent year on year.

The US freight transportation services index (TSI), based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, rose by 0.1 per cent in October this year from September, rising marginally after remaining at the same level for two consecutive months, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) under the department of transportation.

From October 2022 to October 2023, the index fell by 0.9 per cent.

The level of for-hire freight shipments in October measured by the freight TSI (138.8) was 1.6 per cent below the all-time high level of 141.1 in August 2019.

The revision to the September data left the September index unchanged.

The US freight TSI increased in October due to seasonally-adjusted increases in air freight, water, trucking and rail intermodal, while rail carload and pipeline decreased.

The October increase came in the context of mixed results for other indicators. The Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production (IP) Index decreased 0.6 per cent in September, reflecting decreases of 0.7 per cent in manufacturing.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index decreased by 2.3 points to 46.7, indicating contraction in manufacturing.

The October freight index increase was the fourth month in a row without a decrease, leaving the index 1.5 per cent above the June level but 0.7 per cent below February, and 1.6 per cent below its level in August 2022. The index increased by 3.5 per cent since August 2021, a BTS release said.

The October Freight TSI exceeds the pandemic low in April 2020 by 11.9 per cent.

BTS research has shown a clear relationship between economic cycles and the freight TSI.

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