Transportation Services Index ascended slightly in April

April's Transportation Services Index (TSI) clocked in at 118.2, up 0.3 percent from March's level and 3.8 percent from April 2013's mark, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

The Freight TSI of 117.6 in April rose 0.4 percent on a month-over-month basis and 4.8 percent on a year-over-year basis. The measure of month-to-month changes in output from for-hire rail, trucking, inland waterway, pipeline and air freight firms logged a gain for the third-straight month. Freight shipments in April, as measured by the index, reached the second-highest-ever mark and were only 0.1 percent below the all-time-high of 117.8 set in November 2013, BTS officials said in a press release.

"The April increase in the freight index was led by trucking and rail intermodal, which grew rapidly for the third month in a row," they said. "Rail carload growth slowed after fast growth in March."

April's Passenger TSI of 119.3 ratcheted up 0.1 percent from March's level and increased 1.5 percent from April 2013's mark. The index measures month-to-month changes in travel via air, local transit and intercity rail.