BTS: May Freight Shipments Increased 1.7% from Prior Month


   
    

    

   OAKHURST, N.J. (DTN) --- The Freight Transportation Services Index, which is 
based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, 
rose 1.7% to 137.8 in May from April, rising for the first month after a 
two-month decline, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau 
of Transportation Statistics. Data show May for-hire freight shipments up 0.2% 
from May 2023.

   The agency reports the April index revised to 135.5 from 134.9 in last 
month's release.

   The Freight TSI increased in May due to seasonally adjusted increases in 
trucking, air freight, rail intermodal and water while rail carload and 
pipeline declined.

   The May increase came in context of mixed results for several other 
indicators. The Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production Index grew by 0.7% 
in May, reflecting increases of 1.7% in utilities, 0.1% in mining and 0.6% in 
manufacturing. Housing starts were down 5.7% and personal income increased by 
0.5%.

   The Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing index was down 0.5 points 
to 48.7, for a second month of contraction in manufacturing. A reading above 50 
indicates an expansion of U.S. manufacturing while a reading below 50 indicates 
a contraction.

   Although BTS withheld the May Passenger TSI because of the previously cited 
difficulty of estimating airline passenger travel and other components, the 
April index is now being released. The index decreased 0.9% from March to 
April. Seasonally adjusted transit and air passenger were down while rail 
passenger grew.

   The Passenger TSI has now exceeded its level of March 2020, the first month 
of the pandemic, for 35 consecutive months but remains below its pre-pandemic 
level for a 50th  consecutive month.

   For-hire freight shipments measured by the index were down 0.7% in April 
compared to the end of 2023.




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