TRANSPORTATION, WAREHOUSING AND UTILITIES

Inputs: Occupational Safety and Health Risks

More than 7 million workers in transportation, warehousing, and utilities industries are at risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries. Occupations within these industries account for 5% of U.S. workers and 15% of workplace fatalities. Workers employed in truck transportation account for 65% of the fatalities in transportation, warehousing, and utilities industries. In addition to being at risk of fatal injuries, workers in these industries are at risk of injury or illness from transportation incidents, overexertion, electrocution, vehicle emissions, and falls. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes detailed information about occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities for all industry sectors.

Fatalities

Fatalities among private sector workers in transportation and warehousing sector accounted for 661 fatalities, about 4 percent higher than 2009 (633). The number of fatal injuries in truck transportation, the largest subsector within transportation and warehousing in terms of employment, increased by 6 percent in 2010, led by a 20 percent increase in specialized freight trucking. Fatal work injuries increased in all other transportation subsectors, except water, support activities to transportation,and couriers and messengers which declined in 2010.Fatality rate for the transportation sector in 2010 was 10.9, three times that of general industry at 3.6 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers.

Source:Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) - Current and Revised Data

Fatal occupational injuries* by private industry (2)† and selected event or exposure, 2010

Fatalities	Number	Rate per 100,000 FTE	Transportation incidents Contact	Assaults	Contact with objects and equipment	Falls	Exposure
Transportation and warehousing	661	11.2	451	66	63	45	27
Air transportation	32	6.2	29	-	-	-	-
Rail transportation	11	4.1	11	-	-	-	-
Water transportation	13	21.3	10	-	-	-	-
Truck transportation	416	24.8	304	19	37	29	19
Transit and ground passenger transportation	62	8.0	43	3	7	8	3
Support activities for transportation	67	8.5	45	7	9	5	-
Postal service	16	2.4	6	5	-	3	-
Couriers and messengers	27	4.2	22	-	1	-	-
Warehousing and storage	20	5.2	-	4	9	3	-
Utilities	26	2.1	6	-	-	-	12

* Totals include data for industries not shown separately.
† Based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2002.

Source: Fatal occupational injuries by industry and event or exposure, All United States, 2010 [PDF - 272 KB]

Additional BLS occupational fatality information is available in the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Fatality Rates for Private Industry, Transportation and Warehousing, and Utilities, 2003-2010

Nonfatal injuries and illnesses

Transportation and Warehousing

This industry includes establishments engaged in transportation of passengers and freight via air, water, rail, and ground, as well as warehousing and storage of goods, sightseeing transportation, and various related support activities. This sector accounted for nearly 10 percent of all private industry injury and illness cases in 2010, but made up only 4 percent of employment. This sector reported the highest rate among service-providing industry sectors, 5.2 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2010.

Utilities

This sector comprises establishments that provide electric power, natural gas, water, and sewage removal. This relatively small industry sector accounted for only about one-half of one percent of private industry employment and injury and illness cases in 2010. This sector experienced a 1% increase in injuries and illness cases after two years of significantly decreasing numbers. The water, sewage, and other systems (NAICS 2213) was the only sub-sector to experience an increase in the injury and illnesses rate, rising from 4.1 to 4.5 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2010.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Injuries and Illnesses and Fatal Injuries Profiles