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Transportation

Data through Aug 2026 · updated

How much the country moves: freight by truck, rail, pipeline, water and air, and passengers by air, transit and rail, as one index from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Freight tends to turn before the economy does.

SlowingFreight is slowing: the index is 3.0% below a year earlier and 2.1% under its 2019 level. Passenger travel is steady (−0.2%).

Watch: Whether freight keeps falling: it is 4.4% under its peak of Aug 2019. Freight usually turns down before the wider economy does.

What changed in Aug 2026

  • Freight, vs last month−0.5 −0.4%
  • Passenger, vs last month+0.2 +0.2%
  • All transportation, vs last month−0.3 −0.2%
  • +3 more for members
Every headline number4 readings with their changes
Freight index134.4−3.0% vs a year earlierTrucks, rail, pipelines, water and air freight, August 2026 (2000 = 100)
Passenger index127.8−0.2% vs a year earlierAir, transit and rail passengers, August 2026 (2000 = 100)
All transportation129.3−2.0% vs a year earlierFreight and passengers together, August 2026
Freight vs 2019−2.1%Freight activity against its 2019 average, the last year before the pandemic
About the dataBTS Transportation Services Index · U.S. federal data · monthly

The Transportation Services Index measures the volume of freight and passengers moved by the for-hire transportation industry each month, seasonally adjusted, with 2000 = 100. Freight covers trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight; passengers cover air, local transit and intercity rail. Shaded periods are U.S. recessions as dated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Source: Transportation Services Index (Monthly Transportation Statistics), U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics; U.S. business cycle expansions and contractions, National Bureau of Economic Research.

How the takeaway is decided

  • Growing or Slowing: the index is more than 2% above or below a year earlier.

The words and colours come from these rules, applied to the newest data on every update; they describe the data and are not advice.