Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Water Transportation: NAICS 483

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, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment

Data series Back
data
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Sep.
2024

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

75.8 75.3 (p)74.7 (p)75.4

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2023

Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels

12,340

General and operations managers

1,570

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

2,550

Sailors and marine oilers

11,380

Ship engineers

3,230

(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage 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, 2023
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels

49.51 54.92 102,980 114,240

General and operations managers

63.31 73.58 131,670 153,050

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

22.19 26.38 46,150 54,870

Sailors and marine oilers

22.69 25.72 47,200 53,490

Ship engineers

49.55 54.86 103,060 114,100

(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage 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 2019 2020 2021 2022

Fatalities

Number of fatalities

13 16 9 14

Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Data series 2022

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

Total recordable cases

1.8

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

1.4

Cases involving days away from work

1.1

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

0.3

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
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Sep.
2024

Producer price index

(p)203.292 (p)204.736 (p)201.405 (p)202.466

Percent change from previous month

  (p)0.8% (p)0.7% (p)-1.6% (p)0.5%

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
2nd quarter
2023
3rd quarter
2023
4th quarter
2023
1st quarter
2024

Number of establishments

Private industry

2,461 2,486 2,484 (p)2,505

Local government

9 9 9 (p)9

State government

13 13 13 (p)13

Federal government

1 1 1 (p)1

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

This section presents productivity and related data for the industry, presented as the percent change from the previous year. Measures of total factor productivity (TFP) compare growth in output to the growth in a combination of inputs that include labor, capital, energy, materials, and services. Measures of labor productivity, or output per hour, compare the growth in output to the growth in hours worked.

Data series Back
data
2019 2020 2021 2022

Total factor productivity (TFP)

-2.0 1.5 -0.3 -6.2

Output

0.1 -31.3 -9.1 13.1

Combined inputs

2.1 -32.3 -8.8 20.6

Capital input

2.2 -0.4 0.8 1.5

Labor input

-2.9 -11.4 22.5 14.2

Labor productivity, output per hour

3.4 -21.3 -26.7 -0.3

(Source: Productivity)

 

Data extracted on: October 11, 2024