advertisement

---

The Transportation Services Index (TSI) slipped to 111.2 in August, declining 0.5 percent from July's level, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). But on a year-over-year basis, the TSI increased 1.6 percent.

August's Freight TSI of 109 dipped 0.6 percent from July's level and inched up 0.9 percent from August 2011's count. The Freight TSI — which measures the output of for-hire rail, trucking, inland waterway, pipeline and air freight companies — maintained a pattern of little change since January, BTS officials said in a prepared statement.

"This appears to reflect the rate of growth in the general economy," they said. "Gross domestic product growth slowed to a revised 1.7 percent in the second quarter and a revised 2 percent in the first quarter from 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis."

August's Passenger TSI of 117.4 fell 0.5 percent from July's level, but rose 3.3 percent on a year-over-year basis. The seasonally adjusted index includes data from the intercity rail, local transit and airline sectors.