Warehousing and Storage: NAICS 493

About the Warehousing and Storage subsector

The warehousing and storage subsector is part of the transportation and warehousing sector.

Industries in the Warehousing and Storage subsector are primarily engaged in operating warehousing and storage facilities for general merchandise, refrigerated goods, and other warehouse products. These establishments provide facilities to store goods. They do not sell the goods they handle. These establishments take responsibility for storing the goods and keeping them secure. They may also provide a range of services, often referred to as logistics services, related to the distribution of goods. Logistics services can include labeling, breaking bulk, inventory control and management, light assembly, order entry and fulfillment, packaging, pick and pack, price marking and ticketing, and transportation arrangement. However, establishments in this industry group always provide warehousing or storage services in addition to any logistic services. Furthermore, the warehousing or storage of goods must be more than incidental to the performance of services, such as price marking.

North American Industry Classification System

The warehousing and storage subsector consists of a single industry group, Warehousing and Storage: NAICS 4931.

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in warehousing and storage. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment and Layoffs

Data series Back
data
Dec.
2008
Jan.
2009
Feb.
2009
Mar.
2009

Employment (in thousands)

 

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

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659.5 656.9 (P) 652.4 (P) 650.8

Employment, nonsupervisory workers

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587.1 573.6 (P) 563.2  

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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12 26 7 11

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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1,388 2,354 842 1,151

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series Back
data
1st quarter
2008
2nd quarter
2008
3rd quarter
2008
4th quarter
2008

Extended mass layoff events

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5 8 (P) 8 (P) 16

Separations

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510 785 (P) 1,221 (P) 1,905

Initial claimants

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685 1,003 (P) 1,067 (P) 1,865

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2008

Industrial truck and tractor operators

89,360

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

148,240

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks

36,350

Stock clerks and order fillers

58,720

Transportation, storage, and distribution managers

6,370

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for warehousing and storage.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours for production or nonsupervisory employees are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in warehousing and storage.

Earnings and Hours of Production Workers

Data series Back
data
Nov.
2008
Dec.
2008
Jan.
2009
Feb.
2009

Average hourly earnings

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$15.20 $15.11 $15.38 (P) $15.43

Average weekly hours

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40.2 39.9 37.5 (P) 37.5

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2008
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Industrial truck and tractor operators

$13.94 $14.49 $28,990 $30,140

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

$12.52 $13.11 $26,040 $27,270

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks

$13.94 $14.76 $28,990 $30,700

Stock clerks and order fillers

$13.74 $14.32 $28,580 $29,790

Transportation, storage, and distribution managers

$35.57 $38.71 $73,980 $80,520

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in warehousing and storage. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

Data series 2004 2005 2006 2007

Fatalities

 

Number of fatalities

21 27 17 31

Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers

 

Total recordable cases

9.3 8.2 8.0 7.7

Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer

5.8 5.4 5.6 5.5

Cases involving days away from work

2.8 2.2 2.2 2.1

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

3.0 3.2 3.4 3.3

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Prices

This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction.

Data series Back
data
Dec.
2008
Jan.
2009
Feb.
2009
Mar.
2009

Producer price index

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(P) 107.7 (P) 107.2 (P) 107.2 (P) 107.2

Percent change from previous month

 

(P) 0.5% (P) -0.5% (P) 0.0% (P) 0.0%

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in warehousing and storage.

Establishments

Data series Back
data
4th quarter
2007
1st quarter
2008
2nd quarter
2008
3rd quarter
2008

Number of establishments

 

Private industry

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14,676 (P) 15,051 (P) 15,242 (P) 15,322

Local government

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212 (P) 211 (P) 211 (P) 212

State government

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9 (P) 11 (P) 12 (P) 12

Federal government

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11 (P) 10 (P) 10 (P) 10

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

See truck transportation and warehousing in the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: May 01, 2009