U.S. BTS freight index down a bit in February

The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), which is based on the amount of freight carried by the transportation industry, fell 0.7 percent in February from January after two months of growth, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) announced yesterday.

The February index level of 122.2 was 29 percent above the April 2009 low during the Great Recession. The BTS revised the January 2016 level to 123.1 from 122.2 reported in an earlier press release.

The 0.7 decrease in February was due to substantial declines in trucking and pipeline, and a smaller decrease in rail intermodal, according to BTS officials. Air freight, water and rail carloads all increased.

The decline paralleled a decline in the Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production Index, which fell 0.5 percent in February.

Year to date, BTS-measured freight shipments were up 1 percent from February 2015.