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Water Transportation: NAICS 483

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About the Water Transportation subsector

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

Industries in the Water Transportation subsector provide water transportation of passengers and cargo using watercraft, such as ships, barges, and boats.

The subsector is composed of two industry groups: (1) one for deep sea, coastal, and Great Lakes; and (2) one for inland water transportation. This split typically reflects the difference in equipment used.

North American Industry Classification System

The water transportation subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation: NAICS 4831
  • Inland Water Transportation: NAICS 4832

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in water transportation. 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
Mar.
2008
Apr.
2008
May
2008
Jun.
2008

Employment (in thousands)

 

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

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61.6 62.3 (P) 62.0 (P) 63.6

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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(1) - - (1) -  

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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(1) - - (1) -  

Footnotes
(1) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

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

Extended mass layoff events

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(1) - 3 (P) 3 (P) 7

Separations

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(1) - 251 (P) 357 (P) 1,540

Initial claimants

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(1) - 401 (P) 328 (P) 1,138

Footnotes
(1) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2007

Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels

12,240

General and operations managers

1,160

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

1,900

Sailors and marine oilers

14,790

Ship engineers

7,500

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings

Recent hourly and annual earnings for occupations commonly found in water transportation.

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2007
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels

$29.17 $32.62 $60,680 $67,850

General and operations managers

$47.36 $54.59 $98,500 $113,540

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

$10.50 $12.17 $21,830 $25,310

Sailors and marine oilers

$15.62 $16.61 $32,480 $34,560

Ship engineers

$27.04 $30.52 $56,240 $63,480

(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 water transportation. 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 2003 2004 2005 2006

Fatalities

 

Number of fatalities

27 44 23 21

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

 

Total recordable cases

  4.4 3.9 4.4

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

2.3 2.6 2.4 2.6

Cases involving days away from work

1.8 1.8 1.8 1.9

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

0.4 0.8 0.6 0.7

(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
Feb.
2008
Mar.
2008
Apr.
2008
May
2008

Producer price index

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(P) 120.5 (P) 120.8 (P) 122.1 (P) 122.3

Percent change from previous month

 

(P) 1.3% (P) 0.2% (P) 1.1% (P) 0.2%

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in water transportation.

Establishments

Data series Back
data
4th quarter
2006
1st quarter
2007
2nd quarter
2007
3rd quarter
2007

Number of establishments

 

Private industry

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1,635 (P) 1,676 (P) 1,693 (P) 1,691

Local government

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2 (P) 2 (P) 2 (P) 2

State government

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14 (P) 8 (P) 8 (P) 8

Federal government

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1 (P) 1 (P) 1 (P) 1

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

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

 

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