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Mar 14, 2008 9:55 AM

The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) rose 2.4 percent in January from its December level, matching its largest monthly increase in the last two years, the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported.

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

In January, the TSI noted an increase--the third rise in the last four months. At 111.5, the freight TSI is down 1.5 percent from its peak of 113.1 achieved in November 2005 but up 3.2 percent in the four months since its recent low of 108.0 in September 2007.

With the January increase of 2.4 percent, the freight index had its largest climb to start the year since the January 1993 increase of 4.2 percent.

The January freight TSI of 111.5 was 2.7 percent higher than the January 2007 level and remains 0.3 percent below the January 2006 level and 1.3 percent lower than the January 2005 level.

Despite declines from recent January levels, the freight index has increased 7.9 percent in five years and 13.5 percent in 10 years.