Domestic freight activity falls in January

   The amount of freight carried by the domestic transportation industry fell in January for a second straight month, ending the period down 2.8 percent from December, according to the Department of Transportation.
   This is the first two-month decline measured since October 2012.
   The department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that despite the recent downturn, the Freight Transportation Index is still 19.8-percent higher than the most recent low-point in April 2009 and 3.5-percent below the November 2013 high point. The index measures activity by rail, trucking, pipeline and air freight in tons and ton miles, and then combines the results into one number.
   “The index for each freight mode declined in January, with the largest decline in trucking. These declines took place during a period of severe winter weather, which particularly hit the heavily populated parts of the country,” according to the bureau. “The decline in freight TSI took place despite increases in employment and personal income in January.”