FREIGHT FELLS 1.5% IN FEBRUARY FROM JANUARY

The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry declined 1.5% in February from January, falling after two consecutive monthly increases, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS) Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI). BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that shipments measured by the Freight TSI rose 12.9% over the last 22 months, starting in May 2009, after declining 15.7% in the previous 16 months beginning in January 2008. Freight shipments have increased in 16 of the last 22 months. In February 2011, freight shipments were at about the