The Freight Transportation Services Index, which measures freight carried by for-hire transportation services, fell 0.7 percent in July from June, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
The decline came after one month of growth and reflected decreases in air freight, pipeline, and trucking, the BTS said. Rail carloads, rail intermodal, and water volumes increased during the month. Year-over-year, the index fell 2.0 percent from July 2025 to July 2026.
The Passenger Transportation Services Index, which measures volumes on local transit, intercity rail, and air transportation, rose 0.4 percent in July from June, marking the third consecutive month of growth. From July 2025 to July 2026, the passenger index rose 1.8 percent.
The combined freight and passenger index fell 0.3 percent from June and fell 0.7 percent year-over-year.
The July passenger index reached a new high for 2026, though it remained 5.6 percent below its all-time peak in January 2020.
BTS noted that the figures for pipeline petroleum, air freight, air passenger, and waterborne data for July were either estimated or not yet available from reporting services.