10/12/2012

Rail News: Rail Industry Trends
Transportation Services Index slid a bit in August, BTS says

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.