The Transportation Services Index (TSI) for freight fell 0.4 percent in October from the September level, turning down after a one-month rise and continuing a pattern that began in October 2005 of alternating monthly increases and decreases, according to information from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The Freight TSI October 2006 level fell 0.7 percent from the October 2005 level, the second consecutive decline from October of the previous year and the largest October-to-October decline since 2000.
During the first 10 months of 2006, the Freight TSI fell 1.6 percent, the second consecutive decline in the December-to-October period and the biggest decline in the period since 2000.
The TSI is a single seasonally adjusted index of the month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by the for-hire transportation industries, including railroad, air, truck, inland waterways, pipeline, and local transit.