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Dec 14, 2007 9:49 AM

The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) rose 1.3 percent in October from its September level, rising after a one-month decline that brought the index to its lowest level since January 2004, the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) has reported.

The October rise was the largest monthly increase since May 2006. At 109.5, the freight TSI is down 3.2 percent from its peak of 113.1 achieved in November 2005.

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.

The October increase pushed the freight index into positive territory for the year after having been down for the first nine months. For the first 10 months of 2007, the freight TSI was up 0.6 percent. In 2005 and 2006, the index declined during the 10-month period.

The October freight TSI of 109.5 was down 0.3 percent from its October 2006 level, the second consecutive October-to-October decline, and the largest October-to- October decline since 2000.

The October index is at its lowest October level since October 2003, 0.6 percent lower than the October 2004 level and 0.5 percent lower than the October 2005 level. Despite the recent declines, the freight index has increased 5.8 percent in five years and 13.1 percent in 10 years.

The TSI is an index of the month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by for-hire transportation industries. It includes historic data from 1990 to the present. The TSI is still under development and is considered experimental. The seasonally adjusted index measures changes from the monthly average of the base year of 2000. Release of the November index is scheduled for January 9, 2008.