BTS Releases March Transportation Services Index (TSI)
Combined Index and Freight Index Reach Record Highs
BTS 14-04
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Dave Smallen
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Monday June 7, 2004 -
The Transportation Services Index (TSI) reached the highest level in the 14-year period covered by the index with a 1.0 percent rise in March, and the Freight TSI reached an all-time high with a 1.4 percent increase, the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported today
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The overall TSI rose every month since August 2003 except for a drop in January this year. The March level of 122.5 (1996=100) was 7.0 percent higher than in March 2003. The February TSI was 121.3, revised from the 120.4 reported in BTS' May release.
The Freight Transportation Services Index has risen the past two months to a level of 123.3 (1996=100). The March level was 6.0 percent higher than a year ago in March 2003.
TSI is a single seasonally adjusted index of the month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by the for-hire transportation industries, including railroad, air, truck, inland waterways, pipeline, and local transit.
The index includes historic data from 1990 to the present, allowing for examination of trends, peaks and low-points. Changes are measured against the base year of 1996. The TSI is still under development and is considered experimental.
The Transportation Services Index for Freight
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the TSI for freight increased 1.4 percent in March from February's level of 121.6. The March 2004 level of 123.3 was 6.0 percent higher than the March 2003 level of 116.3 and is a record high for the 14-year period covered by the index. The February TSI for freight was 121.6, revised from the 120.6 reported in BTS' May release.
Transportation Services Index for Passengers
The TSI for passengers was down 0.1 percent in March after two consecutive rises in January and February. The March level of 120.5 is 9.4 percent higher than the March 2003 level of 110.1. The February TSI for passengers was 120.6, revised from the 119.7 reported in BTS' May release.
Table 1: Percent changes in the Transportation Services Index by Month Since September 2003 (Seasonally Adjusted):
Excel | CSV
| September |
115.8 |
0.1 |
116.7 |
-0.2 |
113.8 |
0.8 |
| October |
116.7 |
0.8 |
117.6 |
0.8 |
114.5 |
0.6 |
| November |
118.1 |
1.2 |
118.4 |
0.6 |
117.5 |
2.6 |
| December |
120.2 |
1.7 |
121.3 |
2.5 |
117.3 |
-0.1 |
| January |
119.3 |
-0.7 |
120.1 |
-1.0 |
117.6 |
0.2 |
| February |
121.3 |
1.6 |
121.6 |
1.3 |
120.6 |
2.6 |
| March |
122.5 |
1.0 |
123.3 |
1.4 |
120.5 |
-0.1 |
Table 2: Percent changes in the Transportation Services Index from Year-to-Year March TSI (1996 = 100)
Excel | CSV
| 1996 |
99.9 |
1.0 |
| 1997 |
103.3 |
3.3 |
| 1998 |
109.6 |
6.1 |
| 1999 |
114.4 |
4.4 |
| 2000 |
114.0 |
-0.3 |
| 2001 |
114.5 |
0.4 |
| 2002 |
112.1 |
-2.1 |
| 2003 |
114.5 |
2.1 |
| 2004 |
122.5 |
7.0 |
Table 3: Percent Changes in the Transportation Services Index from Previous Years to 2004 March to March
Excel | CSV
| 7.0 |
2003 |
One Year |
| 9.2 |
2002 |
Two Years |
| 7.0 |
2001 |
Three Years |
| 7.4 |
2000 |
Four Years |
| 7.1 |
1999 |
Five Years |
| 11.8 |
1998 |
Six Years |
| 18.6 |
1997 |
Seven Years |
| 22.5 |
1996 |
Eight Years |
Table 4: Percent changes in the Freight Transportation Services Index from Year-to-Year March Freight TSI (1996 = 100)
Excel | CSV
| 1996 |
100.1 |
-1.1 |
| 1997 |
103.1 |
3.1 |
| 1998 |
111.6 |
8.2 |
| 1999 |
116.2 |
4.2 |
| 2000 |
112.7 |
-3.1 |
| 2001 |
112.5 |
-0.2 |
| 2002 |
112.9 |
0.4 |
| 2003 |
116.3 |
3.1 |
| 2004 |
123.3 |
6.0 |
Table 5: Percent changes in the Passenger Transportation Services Index from Year-to-Year March Passenger TSI (1996 = 100)
Excel | CSV
| 1996 |
99.7 |
5.7 |
| 1997 |
103.6 |
4.0 |
| 1998 |
105.5 |
1.8 |
| 1999 |
110.6 |
4.9 |
| 2000 |
117.5 |
6.2 |
| 2001 |
119.4 |
1.6 |
| 2002 |
110.3 |
-7.6 |
| 2003 |
110.1 |
-0.2 |
| 2004 |
120.5 |
9.4 |
During the six months ending in March, the TSI rose 5.7 percent (seasonally adjusted). The Freight TSI rose 5.7 percent and the Passenger TSI rose 5.9 percent during the six-month period.
Note: Transportation Services Index numbers (Total, Freight, and Passenger) were revised because additional data became available for seasonality adjustments and revisions in the output data of the component transportation services. These changes have a larger impact on more recent numbers.
Brief Explanation of the TSI
The Transportation Services Index (TSI) is a measure of the month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by the for-hire transportation industries.
The TSI tells us how the output of transportation services has increased or decreased from month to month. The index can be examined together with other economic indicators to produce a better understanding of the current and future course of the economy. The movement of the index over time can be compared with other economic measures to understand the relationship of changes in transportation output to changes in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The TSI is still under development and is therefore considered experimental. It is being examined for refinements in data sources, methodologies and interpretations.
The freight transportation index consists of:
For hire trucking (not including parcel services),
Railroad freight services (including rail based intermodal shipments such as containers on flat cars),
Inland waterways transportation,
Pipeline transportation (including principally petroleum and petroleum products and natural gas), and
Air freight.
The index does not include international or coastal waterborne movements, private trucking, courier services, or the US Postal Service.
The passenger transportation index consists of:
Local transit,
Intercity passenger rail, and
Passenger air transportation.
The index does not include intercity bus, sight seeing services, ferry services, taxi service, private automobile usage, or bicycling and other non-motorized means of transportation.
The components have been selected to give the best coverage possible of the for-hire transportation industry, subject to current limitations on the availability of monthly data.
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