BTS: Oct. Freight Shipments Dip 1.2% on Month and Year


   
Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

   SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- The Freight Transportation Services Index, which is 
based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, 
dipped 1.2% month-on-month to 136.7 in October, the Bureau of Transportation 
Statistics (BTS) at the U.S. Department of Transportation said Wednesday 
(12/10).

   The drop for October was registered after the BTS revised upwards the 
September reading of the index to 139.1 from a previously published 136.2.

   On a yearly basis, the index also fell 1.2% from October 2024, the BTS said.

   The agency noted that October's decline reflected decreases in rail 
carloads, rail intermodal, pipeline and trucking, while air freight and water 
volumes increased.

   The September decrease coincided with flat readings for many other 
indicators. While the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing index 
registered a 0.4% drop for the month, there was no change in the Federal 
Reserve Board Industrial Production Index that had subsets for manufacturing, 
mining and utilities. Also maintaining status quo were indicators for housing 
starts, retails sales and personal income.

   The Passenger Transportation Services Index, meanwhile, rose 0.6% 
month-on-month and 1.6% year-on-year in October. In September, the index -- 
which measures passenger transportation volumes on local transit, intercity 
rail and air transportation -- declined 2.9% on the month and 1.1% on the year.

   The Combined Freight and Passenger Index, meanwhile, slipped 0.5% 
month-on-month and 0.2% year-on-year in October. In September, the combined 
index registered declines of 2.3% on the month and 1.1% on the year. BTS 
estimates air freight and air passenger readings one month ahead of reported 
data.




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