U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Industries at a Glance

Support Activities for Transportation: NAICS 488

About the Support Activities for Transportation subsector

The support activities for transportation subsector is part of the transportation and warehousing sector.

Industries in the Support Activities for Transportation subsector provide services which support transportation. These services may be provided to transportation carrier establishments or to the general public. This subsector includes a wide array of establishments, including air traffic control services, marine cargo handling, and motor vehicle towing.

North American Industry Classification System

The support activities for transportation subsector consists of these industry groups:

Support Activities for Air Transportation: NAICS 4881
Support Activities for Rail Transportation: NAICS 4882
Support Activities for Water Transportation: NAICS 4883
Support Activities for Road Transportation: NAICS 4884
Freight Transportation Arrangement: NAICS 4885
Other Support Activities for Transportation: NAICS 4889

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in support activities for 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	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)	589.7	588.8	(P) 586.2	(P) 583.0
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees	491.3	491.7	(P) 486.5
Layoffs
Mass layoff events	7	4	7	7
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits	603	263	501	606
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs


Data series	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012	4th quarter 2012	1st quarter 2013
Extended mass layoff events	6	5	(P) 5	(P) 6
Separations	815	773	(P) 815	(P) 568
Initial claimants	721	706	(P) 900	(P) 574
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation


Data series	Employment, 2012
Aircraft mechanics and service technicians	31,490
Cargo and freight agents	46,420
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance	13,380
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	62,360
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer	44,760

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(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 are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in support activities for transportation.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees


Data series	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013
Average hourly earnings	$23.68	$23.50	$23.51	(P) $23.57
Average weekly hours	37.8	36.8	37.4	(P) 37.5
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees


Data series	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013
Average hourly earnings	$21.87	$21.74	$21.73	(P) $21.64
Average weekly hours	37.3	36.3	36.9	(P) 37.3
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation


Data series	Wages, 2012
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Aircraft mechanics and service technicians	$23.61	$23.54	$49,120	$48,970
Cargo and freight agents	$19.62	$20.91	$40,800	$43,490
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance	$14.94	$16.63	$31,070	$34,590
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	$13.46	$15.59	$28,010	$32,420
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer	$15.66	$16.60	$32,580	$34,520

(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 support activities for 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	2008	2009	2010	2011
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	96	87	68	91
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	4.0	4.0	3.8	3.8
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	2.6	2.7	2.6	2.5
Cases involving days away from work	1.6	1.8	1.6	1.6
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.9	0.9	1.1	0.8
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	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Producer price index	(P) 116.4	(P) 116.7	(P) 116.8	(P) 117.4
Percent change from previous month	(P) 0.1%	(P) 0.3%	(P) 0.1%	(P) 0.5%
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in support activities for transportation.

Establishments


Data series	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012
Number of establishments
Private industry	41,547	(P) 41,746	(P) 41,793	(P) 42,030
Local government	803	(P) 808	(P) 807	(P) 809
State government	415	(P) 414	(P) 412	(P) 412
Federal government	219	(P) 220	(P) 220	(P) 220
Footnotes (P) Preliminary