You are here
August Transportation Services Index (TSI) Combined Freight-Passenger Index Falls
August Transportation Services Index (TSI) Combined Freight-Passenger Index Falls
BTS 30-04Dave Smallen
202-366-5568
Monday, November 8, 2004 - The Transportation Services Index (TSI) fell 0.8 percent in August, the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported today.
The TSI, which combines freight and passenger indexes, fell in August to 124.5 (1996=100) after a one-month rise in July to 125.5. The drop is the largest monthly decline since February 2003. The August 2004 level of 124.5 is 6.7 percent higher than the August 2003 level of 116.7.
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 next release is scheduled for Dec. 6.
The Transportation Services Index for Freight
The TSI for freight decreased 1.0 percent to 125.6 in August from the July level of 126.9, following a one-month rise in July. The August 2004 level of 125.6 is 6.1 percent higher than the August 2003 level of 118.4.
Transportation Services Index for Passengers
The TSI for passengers decreased 0.4 percent to 122.3 in August from the July level of 122.7, following two months of increases. The August 2004 level of 122.3 is 8.2 percent higher than the August 2003 level of 113.0.
More on TSI
During the six months ending in August, the TSI rose 1.4 percent. The Freight TSI rose 1.4 percent and the Passenger TSI rose 1.2 percent during the six-month period.
Note: The TSI for June, July and August are preliminary. The May 2004 TSI values (Total, Freight, and Passenger) are unchanged from the values reported in BTS' October release and are no longer 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.
Beginning with this release, BTS will update only the preliminary TSI from three months earlier in its monthly release of the TSI. The most recent month and the two previous months will remain preliminary. All other revisions are held until an annual comprehensive revision of the TSI which will be released as part of the following June TSI release. 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 Since February 2004 (Seasonally Adjusted)
| TSI | Freight | Passenger | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Pct. Change | Index | Pct. Change | Index | Pct. Change | |
| February | 122.8 | 1.7 | 123.9 | 1.4 | 120.8 | 2.4 |
| March | 123.7 | 0.7 | 125.2 | 1.0 | 120.6 | -0.2 |
| April | 125.4 | 1.4 | 127.1 | 1.5 | 121.8 | 1.0 |
| May | 125.1 | -0.2 | 126.7 | -0.3 | 121.6 | -0.2 |
| JuneP | 125.0 | 0.0 | 126.6 | -0.1 | 121.7 | 0.1 |
| JulyP | 125.5 | 0.4 | 126.9 | 0.3 | 122.7 | 0.8 |
| AugustP | 124.5 | -0.8 | 125.6 | -1.0 | 122.3 | -0.4 |
NOTE: P = preliminary
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Table 2: Percent changes in the Transportation Services Index from Year-to-Year August TSI (1996 = 100)
| TSI | Percent change from previous year | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 100.9 | 1.9 |
| 1997 | 107.0 | 6.1 |
| 1998 | 112.9 | 5.4 |
| 1999 | 116.0 | 2.8 |
| 2000 | 115.7 | -0.3 |
| 2001 | 116.2 | 0.4 |
| 2002 | 115.8 | -0.4 |
| 2003 | 116.7 | 0.8 |
| 2004P | 124.5 | 6.7 |
NOTE: P = preliminary
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Table 3: Percent Changes in the Transportation Services Index from Previous Years to 2004 August to August
| Percent change to August 2004 | Since August . . . | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 6.7 | 2003 | One Year |
| 7.6 | 2002 | Two Years |
| 7.2 | 2001 | Three Years |
| 7.6 | 2000 | Four Years |
| 7.3 | 1999 | Five Years |
| 10.3 | 1998 | Six Years |
| 16.3 | 1997 | Seven Years |
| 23.4 | 1996 | Eight Years |
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Table 4: Percent changes in the Freight Transportation Services Index from Year-to-Year August Freight TSI (1996 = 100)
| Freight TSI | Percent change from previous year | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 100.9 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | 108.1 | 7.1 |
| 1998 | 115.2 | 6.6 |
| 1999 | 117.4 | 1.9 |
| 2000 | 114.9 | -2.2 |
| 2001 | 114.1 | -0.7 |
| 2002 | 117.3 | 2.8 |
| 2003 | 118.4 | 1.0 |
| 2004P | 125.6 | 6.1 |
NOTE: P = preliminary
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Table 5: Percent changes in the Passenger Transportation Services Index from Year-to-YearAugust Passenger TSI (1996 = 100)
| Passenger TSI | Percent change from previous year | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 100.8 | 6.3 |
| 1997 | 104.9 | 4.1 |
| 1998 | 107.9 | 2.8 |
| 1999 | 113.3 | 5.0 |
| 2000 | 118.3 | 4.4 |
| 2001 | 121.7 | 2.8 |
| 2002 | 112.6 | -7.4 |
| 2003 | 113.0 | 0.3 |
| 2004P | 122.3 | 8.2 |
NOTE: P = preliminary
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
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.