Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.
Profile image
By Economic Modeling Specialists (EMSI blog)
Contributor profile | More stories
Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

Industry Overview: Air, Rail, Water, and Road Transportation, 2001-2012

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.


Travel is a big deal. Some of the busiest, densest places you’ll ever see are all about travel. If you take a vacation this summer, you’ll doubtless be reminded of this as you spend lots of time in America’s vast transportation network — places like airports, interstate highways, and port cities.

And whenever we travel it is hard to miss the impressive amount of material, people, and commerce that is out there moving around with you. In fact, all the people and infrastructure required to sort out, support, and keep all of the other people and stuff moving is such a big deal that it requires its own industry classification, transportation and warehousing (NAICS 48-49).

According to the Census Bureau:

In this post we’ll take a look at some of the key data specific to air, rail, water, and road transportation in the US. We will first provide a quick transportation sector overview (excluding pipeline transportation) and then in a followup post dive into some specific industry clusters to look at in the top performing MSAs in the US. We also have a separate post on a trends in the warehousing sector, which has seen massive growth.

Please note that preliminary data for 2012 and the latter portion of 2011 are based on projections due to lags in government data releases.

Overview

There are currently an estimated 4.13 million jobs in this customized sector. From 2001 to the present, employment in transportation has grown 3.4% (roughly 135,000 jobs). From 2003-2007, the sector grew by 12.3% before losing 7.4% from 2007-2010. More recently, 2010-2012, the sector is projected to grow 3.3%.

The average industry earnings for these transportation industries is about $51,300 per year, which is slightly above the average industry earnings for the nation.

The Sub-Sectors

Here is a breakdown of the sub-sectors. There are seven three-digit industries that make up transportation. Again, we’re not including pipeline transportation (NAICS 486).

NAICS Code Description 2001 Jobs 2012 Jobs Change % Change 2011 Avg. Annual Wage
Source: EMSI Complete Employment – 2012.1
481 Air Transportation 634,305 474,524 -159,781 -25% $81,634
482 Rail Transportation 237,424 226,216 -11,208 -5% $77,423
483 Water Transportation 59,690 71,793 12,103 20% $93,487
484 Truck Transportation 1,911,295 1,971,798 60,503 3% $46,555
485 Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation 542,712 658,386 115,674 21% $27,628
487 Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation 36,042 45,723 9,681 27% $28,831
488 Support Activities for Transportation 580,219 687,994 107,775 19% $54,412
Total 4,001,687 4,136,434 134,747 3% $51,300

Truck transportation (NAICS 484) – This is the largest industry, making up 48% of the sector’s total employment. It is currently composed of an estimated 1.97 million domestic jobs. Over the past 11 years it has grown 3% (60,000 jobs).

After truck transportation, the next three largest sectors are support activities for transportation (687,994 jobs), transit and ground passenger transportation (658,386), and air transportation (474,524 jobs).

Support activities for transportation (NAICS 488) – According to the Census Bureau, support activities for transportation “includes a wide array of establishments, including air traffic control services, marine cargo handling, and motor vehicle towing.” The sector grew 19% and added nearly 108,000 jobs since 2001.

 

Transit and ground passenger transportation (NAICS 485) – This is the third-largest employment sector on our list. It has grown 21% (or 115,674 jobs) since 2001.

 

Air transportation (NAICS 481) – One of the most interesting industries from our list is air transportation. In 2001, it was second only to truck transportation in terms of employment (634,305 jobs). But it has plummeted 25%. That’s nearly 160,000 jobs lost in 11 years.

 

Staffing Pattern

Here is a quick look at the 15 most common occupations that work in our customized transportation sector.

SOC Code Occupation Employed in Industry Group (2001) Employed in Industry Group (2011) Employed in Industry Group (2012) Change % Change % of the Total Jobs in Industry Group (2011) 2011 Median Hourly Wage Education Level
Source: EMSI Complete Employment – 2012.1
53-3032 Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer 1,204,590 1,360,468 1,379,196 174,606 14% 33.20% $17.85 Short-term on-the-job training
53-3041 Taxi Drivers and Chauffeurs 200,981 239,345 244,653 43,672 22% 5.80% $9.77 Short-term on-the-job training
53-7062 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand 214,179 186,839 185,901 -28,278 -13% 4.60% $11.32 Short-term on-the-job training
53-3033 Truck Drivers, Light or Delivery Services 127,917 136,318 137,675 9,758 8% 3.30% $13.66 Short-term on-the-job training
53-3022 Bus Drivers, School 103,202 124,709 127,644 24,442 24% 3.00% $13.18 Moderate-term on-the-job training
43-4181 Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks 117,845 90,880 89,934 -27,911 -24% 2.20% $15.29 Short-term on-the-job training
39-6031 Flight Attendants 110,254 82,534 81,563 -28,691 -26% 2.00% $18.94 Long-term on-the-job training
43-5032 Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance 79,558 74,540 74,187 -5,371 -7% 1.80% $16.59 Moderate-term on-the-job training
53-3021 Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity 58,757 73,634 75,050 16,293 28% 1.80% $18.31 Moderate-term on-the-job training
43-9061 Office Clerks, General 62,614 60,276 60,696 -1,918 -3% 1.50% $12.71 Short-term on-the-job training
49-3031 Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists 64,127 58,829 59,068 -5,059 -8% 1.40% $18.86 Postsecondary vocational award
43-4051 Customer Service Representatives 58,685 57,930 58,573 -112 0% 1.40% $14.68 Moderate-term on-the-job training
49-3011 Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians 63,341 54,665 54,774 -8,567 -14% 1.30% $24.94 Postsecondary vocational award
43-5011 Cargo and Freight Agents 47,860 53,328 54,201 6,341 13% 1.30% $17.93 Moderate-term on-the-job training
53-2011 Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers 63,326 50,619 50,281 -13,045 -21% 1.20% $50.58 Bachelor’s degree

Outside of airline pilots, the other jobs on this list typically require some form of on-the-job training or postsecondary vocational award and none pays more than $20 per hour (national median average).

Truck drivers is the most common occupation found across these industries, and it added the most jobs since 2001. This really isn’t a big surprise given the size of the trucking sector. In addition, driver occupations make up four of the top nine jobs that staff these transportation industries.

  • Truck drivers, heavy and tractor trailer – This occupation accounts for almost a third of all jobs in the sector. There are currently an estimated 1.37 million jobs in this sector (with 174,000 jobs added since 2001). And at $18 per hour (national median hourly wage), this is also the highest-paying occupation related to driving.
  • Taxi drivers and chauffers - Second on our list, taxi drivers account for 6% of all jobs in the second with just under 245,000 in 2012.
  • Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand – This is another low-wage, low-skill occupation that is prevalent in the transportation sector.

Conclusion

It’s clear from this data that certain portions of the transportation sector are thriving. But air transport has been in major decline, and many of the growing occupations associated with the sector are low paying or don’t require significant education or training.

In our next post we review the top cities for transportation.

Data and analysis come from Analyst, EMSI’s web-based labor market tool. If you would like to learn more, please contact us. Find out more about EMSI and our data here. You can reach us via Twitter @DesktopEcon or by emailing Rob Sentz ([email protected]).

Read more at Economic Modeling Specialists (EMSI blog)


Source:


Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!


Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST


Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!

HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.

Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.

MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)

Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser!  Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!

Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.

Smart Meter Cover -  Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).

Report abuse

    Comments

    Your Comments
    Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

    MOST RECENT
    Load more ...

    SignUp

    Login

    Newsletter

    Email this story
    Email this story

    If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

    If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.