Water Transportation: NAICS 483

On This Page

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		 Oct.
2011		 Nov.
2011		 Dec.
2011		 Jan.
2012

Employment (in thousands)

  

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)
Jump to page with historical data
 63.1 63.1 (P) 63.3 (P) 66.0

Layoffs

  

Mass layoff events

Jump to page with historical data
 (1) - (1) - (1) -  

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

Jump to page with historical data
 (1) - (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		 1st quarter
2011		 2nd quarter
2011		 3rd quarter
2011		 4th quarter
2011

Extended mass layoff events
Jump to page with historical data
 5 (1) - (P) 3 (1) (P) -

Separations
Jump to page with historical data
 1,239 (1) - (P) 240 (1) (P) -

Initial claimants
Jump to page with historical data
 1,286 (1) - (P) 380 (1) (P) -

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

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2010

Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels

 11,860

General and operations managers

 1,100

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

 980

Sailors and marine oilers

 15,300

Ship engineers

 5,070

(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, 2010
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels

 $30.16 $33.49 $62,740 $69,670

General and operations managers

 $51.32 $61.85 $106,740 $128,640

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

 $14.46 $15.84 $30,080 $32,940

Sailors and marine oilers

 $16.78 $17.75 $34,900 $36,920

Ship engineers

 $32.64 $35.28 $67,890 $73,390

(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 2007 2008 2009 2010

Fatalities

  

Number of fatalities

 23 18 17 (P) 8

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

  

Total recordable cases

   3.0 2.5 3.2

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

 2.6 1.7 1.7 1.6

Cases involving days away from work

 2.1 1.2 1.2 1.3

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.3

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(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		 Sep.
2011		 Oct.
2011		 Nov.
2011		 Dec.
2011

Producer price index
Jump to page with historical data
 (P) 134.1 (P) 133.2 (P) 131.5 (P) 131.7

Percent change from previous month

   (P) 1.2% (P) -0.7% (P) -1.3% (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		 3rd quarter
2010		 4th quarter
2010		 1st quarter
2011		 2nd quarter
2011

Number of establishments

  

Private industry
Jump to page with historical data
 1,902 1,903 (P) 1,879 (P) 1,890

Local government
Jump to page with historical data
 9 9 (P) 9 (P) 9

State government
Jump to page with historical data
 8 8 (P) 8 (P) 8

Federal government
Jump to page with historical data
 1 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.

 

Data extracted on: February 10, 2012