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Transportation Services Index (TSI) Rose 0.1 Percent in April from March
Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - The Transportation Services Index (TSI) rose 0.1 percent in April to 111.7 (2000=100) from the March level of 111.6, the fourth increase in the past six months, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today (Table 1). BTS, a part of DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the April level of 111.7 for the combined freight and passenger index was 2.8 percent higher than the April 2004 level of 108.7 (Table 2). The April 2005 level was 13.7 percent higher than the April level of the base year of 2000 (Table 3). 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. The TSI is still under development and is considered experimental. In this month's release, BTS conducted its first annual revision to the TSI in which index numbers through December 2004 were revised to reflect revisions to the source data and changes in the estimated seasonal factors. Also, beginning with this release, the base year has been changed from 1996 to 2000. The index now measures changes from the monthly average for the base year of 2000. Previous releases measured changes from the base year of 1996. More information about the annual revision and its effects on index numbers is provided on the BTS web site under TSI Annual Revision at http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml. The next release is scheduled for Aug. 8. Transportation Services Index for FreightThe TSI for freight rose 0.1 percent to 112.6 in April from the March level of 112.5, the fourth increase in the last six months (Table 1). The April 2005 level of 112.6 is 1.6 percent higher than the April 2004 level of 110.9 (Table 4). Transportation Services Index for PassengersThe TSI for passengers rose 0.1 percent to 109.3 in April from the March level of 109.2, the second consecutive monthly increase (Table 1). The April 2005 level of 109.3 is 5.6 percent higher than the April 2004 level of 103.4 (Table 5). More on TSIDuring the six months ending in April, the TSI rose 2.1 percent, the Freight TSI rose 2.2 percent and the Passenger TSI rose 1.9 percent (Table 1). Notes: TSI numbers for January 2005 (Total, Freight, and Passenger) were revised because of revisions in the output data of the component transportation services and the change of TSI base year from 1996 to 2000. The January TSI is 111.6, revised from 129.7 reported in the June release to 128.4 with 1996 as base year and then rebased to 2000 as base year. The January Freight TSI is 112.8, revised from 130.9 to 128.8 and then rebased to 2000 as base year. The January Passenger TSI is 108.4, revised from 127.4 to 127.6 and then rebased to 2000 as base year. Since TSI numbers for January 2005 were still preliminary in the June release, these revisions are part of the month to month revision rather than the annual revision. The TSI for February, March and April are preliminary. TSI revision policy: TSI is updated monthly with the latest three months' index numbers considered preliminary. Each month BTS releases the latest preliminary TSI, and replaces the oldest preliminary TSI with a revised TSI. All other revisions are held until an annual comprehensive revision of the TSI which will be released as part of the following July TSI release. The numbers in this release through December 2004 reflect the annual comprehensive revision. More information about the revision policy is available at http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml. Table 1: Percent changes in the Transportation Services Index by Month
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| TSI | Freight | Passenger | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Pct. Change | Index | Pct. Change | Index | Pct. Change | |
| October | 109.4 | 0.1 | 110.2 | -0.5 | 107.2 | 1.6 |
| November | 110.3 | 0.9 | 111.7 | 1.3 | 107.0 | -0.2 |
| December | 109.9 | -0.3 | 111.2 | -0.4 | 106.8 | -0.2 |
| JanuaryR | 111.6 | 1.5 | 112.8 | 1.4 | 108.4 | 1.5 |
| FebruaryP | 110.0 | -1.4 | 111.4 | -1.2 | 106.2 | -2.0 |
| MarchP | 111.6 | 1.5 | 112.5 | 0.9 | 109.2 | 2.8 |
| AprilP | 111.7 | 0.1 | 112.6 | 0.1 | 109.3 | 0.1 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Note: P = preliminary; R = revised
Table 2: Percent change from same month previous Year
April TSI (Monthly average of 2000 = 100)
| TSI | Percent change from same month previous year | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 86.0 | 0.4 |
| 1997 | 91.1 | 6.0 |
| 1998 | 97.4 | 6.9 |
| 1999 | 99.8 | 2.4 |
| 2000 | 98.2 | -1.5 |
| 2001 | 99.4 | 1.2 |
| 2002 | 97.7 | -1.7 |
| 2003 | 99.9 | 2.2 |
| 2004 | 108.7 | 8.8 |
| 2005P | 111.7 | 2.8 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Note: P = preliminary
Table 3: Percent Changes in the Transportation Services Index from Previous Years to 2005
April to April
| Percent change to April 2005 | Since April . . . | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 2.8 | 2004 | One Year |
| 11.8 | 2003 | Two Years |
| 14.3 | 2002 | Three Years |
| 12.4 | 2001 | Four Years |
| 13.7 | 2000 | Five Years |
| 11.9 | 1999 | Six Years |
| 14.6 | 1998 | Seven Years |
| 22.6 | 1997 | Eight Years |
| 29.9 | 1996 | Nine Years |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Table 4: Percent change from same month previous Year
April Freight TSI (Monthly average of 2000 = 100)
| Freight TSI | Percent change from same month previous year | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 87.1 | -1.5 |
| 1997 | 92.5 | 6.2 |
| 1998 | 100.6 | 8.7 |
| 1999 | 102.1 | 1.5 |
| 2000 | 97.9 | -4.2 |
| 2001 | 98.6 | 0.8 |
| 2002 | 99.5 | 0.8 |
| 2003 | 103.9 | 4.4 |
| 2004 | 110.9 | 6.7 |
| 2005P | 112.6 | 1.6 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Note: P = preliminary
Table 5: Percent change from same month previous Year
April Passenger TSI (Monthly average of 2000 = 100)
| Passenger TSI | Percent change from same month previous year | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 83.0 | 5.2 |
| 1997 | 87.6 | 5.6 |
| 1998 | 90.4 | 3.1 |
| 1999 | 94.3 | 4.4 |
| 2000 | 99.1 | 5.0 |
| 2001 | 101.0 | 1.9 |
| 2002 | 93.5 | -7.4 |
| 2003 | 90.5 | -3.2 |
| 2004 | 103.4 | 14.3 |
| 2005P | 109.3 | 5.6 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Note: P = preliminary
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,
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 transportation.