The Freight Transportation Services Index in November 2011 edged up 0.1% from the prior month’s index to 109.5 after declining in October 2011, according to data released on Jan. 11 by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, said that freight shipments declined slightly from the recent peak achieved in September 2011 but still remained higher than any other month since July 2008.

According to the data, freight shipments have increased in 21 of the last 31 months.

For the first 11 months of 2011, freight shipments measured by the index were up 2.4%.

The data showed that although freight shipments for the month profiled rose 4.9% from November 2010 and 9.4% from November 2009, they remain below the all-time high for the month of November 112.5 reached in 2005.

The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments in ton-miles, which are then combined into one index. The index measures the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and consists of data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.