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Thirty days after posting its largest month-over-month decline in five years, the Transportation Services Index (TSI) rebounded in September by registering a gain — the first in three months and largest since May.

September’s index rose 1.5 percent to 110.3 compared with August’s TSI, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. However, the TSI dipped 0.5 percent compared with September 2005’s index.

In the third quarter, the TSI decreased 1.4 percent compared with second-quarter data — the first loss after two-straight quarterly gains. During 2006’s first nine months, the TSI fell 0.2 percent compared with similar 2005 data.

September’s Freight TSI totaled 109.5, a 1.3 percent increase compared with August’s index but 1 percent decline compared with September 2005’s level. The Freight TSI decreased 2.7 percent in the third quarter and fell 1.3 percent through nine months.

September’s Passenger TSI totaled 110.7, a 1.7 percent increase compared with August’s index but 0.7 percent decline compared with September 2005’s level. The Passenger TSI rose 0.6 percent in the third quarter and increased 1.1 percent through nine months.

The TSI is a measure of month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by for-hire transportation industries, including rail, air, truck, inland waterways, pipelines and local transit.