Freight index reaches another all-time high in October; truck freight remains strong

In the Transportation Services Index, which measures freight movement in tons and ton-miles, increases in four of six modes, including another significant increase in trucking, led to another all-time high.

Trucking freight jumped forward for a fourth consecutive month, increasing from 144.5 to 146, an increase of more than 1 percent. Numbers from the American Trucking Associations reveal a tonnage increase of 3.3 percent from 142.9 in September to 147.6 in October. ATA calculates the tonnage index based on surveys of its membership.


According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Transportation Services Index for October rose 0.6 percent to 129.2. In September, the index increased by 0.2 percent, replacing an all-time high set in August, which replaced an all-time high in July.

The September index was 36.4 percent above the low that was set during the recession in April 2009. TSI records began in 2000.

According to the DOT, the TSI’s upward movement coincides with growth in the Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production Index, employment, personal income and housing starts.