Transportation and Warehousing: NAICS 48-49

About the Transportation and Warehousing sector

The transportation and warehousing sector is part of the trade, transportation, and utilities supersector.

The transportation and warehousing sector consists of these subsectors:

• Air Transportation: NAICS 481
• Rail Transportation: NAICS 482
• Water Transportation: NAICS 483
• Truck Transportation: NAICS 484
• Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation: NAICS 485
• Pipeline Transportation: NAICS 486
• Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation: NAICS 487
• Support Activities for Transportation: NAICS 488
• Postal Service: NAICS 491
• Couriers and Messengers: NAICS 492
• Warehousing and Storage: NAICS 493

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in transportation and warehousing. While most data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys, information on industry unemployment comes from a national survey of households. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, the unemployment rate of those previously employed in the industry, union membership and representation, gross job gains and losses, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, and Layoffs

Data series	Back data	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012	Aug. 2012
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		4,373.2	4,369.1	(P) 4,379.7	(P) 4,385.4
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)		3,783.4	3,780.4	(P) 3,792.8	(P) 3,804.5
Unemployment
Unemployment rate		8.3%	7.5%	6.7%	7.7%
Layoffs
Mass layoff events		38	191	65
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits		4,628	25,973	5,924
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series	Back data	2008	2009	2010	2011
Union membership and representation
Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)		21.3%	21.3%	20.5%	20.4%
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)		22.4%	22.6%	21.6%	21.4%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Dynamic Changes in Employment

Data series	Back data	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011
Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands)
Gross job gains		204	220	227	244
Gross job losses		223	200	196	202

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series	Back data	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012
Extended mass layoff events		101	37	(P) 50	(P) 155
Separations		13,476	5,529	(P) 8,621	(P) 28,416
Initial claimants		14,597	5,606	(P) 7,053	(P) 25,824
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series	Employment, 2011
Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers	64,120
Bus drivers, school	175,650
Railroad conductors and yardmasters	40,570
Sailors and marine oilers	23,040
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer	872,930

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(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, as well as weekly earnings by union membership status, are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in transportation and warehousing. This section also contains information on the average cost of benefits paid by employers, as well as recent rates of change in wages and total compensation.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series	Back data	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012	Aug. 2012
Average hourly earnings		$22.02	$21.98	(P) $21.97	(P) $21.99
Average weekly hours		38.2	38.2	(P) 38.3	(P) 38.4
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series	Back data	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012	Aug. 2012
Average hourly earnings		$19.56	$19.56	(P) $19.51	(P) $19.41
Average weekly hours		37.9	37.9	(P) 37.9	(P) 37.9
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series	Back data	Median weekly earnings
		2008	2009	2010	2011
Union membership and representation
Full-time workers		$744	$749	$765	$763
Members of unions		$897	$923	$934	$941
Represented by unions		$895	$911	$928	$939
Nonunion		$710	$707	$725	$726

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series	Wages, 2011
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers	(1) $-	(1) $-	$106,610	$119,540
Bus drivers, school	$14.06	$14.58	$29,240	$30,330
Railroad conductors and yardmasters	$25.86	$27.10	$53,790	$56,370
Sailors and marine oilers	$17.14	$18.36	$35,660	$38,180
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer	$19.04	$19.68	$39,600	$40,940
Footnotes (1) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid.

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Employer Compensation Costs

Data series	Back data	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012
12-month percent change
Total compensation		2.4%	2.1%	2.8%	2.9%
Wages and salaries		1.4%	1.0%	2.2%	2.3%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

Data series	Back data	2nd quarter 2012
		Compensation component ($ per hour worked)	Percent of total compensation
Compensation costs
Total compensation		34.24	100.0
Wages and salaries		22.17	64.7
Total benefits		12.07	35.3
Insurance		3.97	11.6
Retirement		1.59	4.6

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

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 transportation and warehousing. 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	2008	2009	2010	2011
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	832	666	689	(P) 762
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	5.7	5.2	5.2
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	3.9	3.5	3.6
Cases involving days away from work	2.5	2.3	2.3
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	1.4	1.3	1.3
Footnotes (P) Preliminary
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

(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	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012	Aug. 2012
Producer price index		(P) 124.6	(P) 124.4	(P) 123.9	(P) 124.4
Percent change from previous month		(P) 0.1%	(P) -0.2%	(P) -0.4%	(P) 0.4%
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments and the number of establishments experiencing job gains or job losses in transportation and warehousing.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011
Number of establishments
Private industry		(P) 216,910	(P) 218,643	(P) 219,889	(P) 220,764
Local government		(P) 2,733	(P) 2,736	(P) 2,740	(P) 2,735
State government		(P) 505	(P) 506	(P) 502	(P) 501
Federal government		(P) 30,542	(P) 30,289	(P) 30,196	(P) 30,195
Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)
With job gains (seasonally adjusted)		52	53	53	53
With job losses (seasonally adjusted)		49	49	50	50
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

The Editor's Desk

See industry studies in the subject matter index of The Editor's Desk (Current Edition).

Monthly Labor Review

See transportation in the Index of the Monthly Labor Review Online (Current Issue).

Career Guide to Industries

To learn about careers from an industry perspective, see the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: September 20, 2012