US Transportation and Warehousing Sector
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 294,054 transportation and warehousing establishments in the US provide the transport of commodities, goods, cargo, and passengers by land, sea, or air as well as temporary and long-term storage for goods.
Variable Fuel Costs
Fuel is a major expense, and the cost can vary significantly based on global market conditions.
Supply Chain Interdependence
The transportation and warehouse sectors are integral parts of the supply chain so the sectors are dependent on the effectiveness of the other links, which include suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, importers, exporters, e-commerce, and distributors that may be located anywhere in the world.
Industry size & Structure
The transportation and warehousing sector is comprised of 294,054 establishments that employ 6.6 million workers and generate $1.4 trillion in annual revenue, according to government sources.
- The transportation and warehousing sector represents 2.7% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 4% of the country's workers.
- The sector is concentrated at the top with the 20 largest firms representing 34% of revenue, but it is fragmented at the bottom.
- In addition to employer establishments, the transportation and warehousing sector has 2.5 million owner-operated establishments with no employees. Subsectors with the highest numbers of nonemployer establishments are transit and ground passenger transportation (52%); truck transportation (27%); couriers and messengers (14%); and support activities for transportation (6%). The owners of nonemployer establishments typically perform the work and may outsource support functions like marketing and accounting.
- The transportation and warehousing sector shed about 27,000 establishments in 2021, which equals about 8.5% of existing establishments, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the sector added about 43,000 new establishments, which is equivalent to 13.6% of existing establishments. As a result, the sector had a growth rate of 5%.
- The transportation and warehousing sector is forecast to grow its employment base by 8.4% overall in 2021-2031, which is higher than the national average of 5.3% for all jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Industry Forecast
US Transportation and Warehousing Sector Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 18, 2025 - US Mass Transit Increases Ridership
- Mass transit in the US continued to grow with a 17% increase in ridership from 2022 to 2023, the most recent data available from the Federal Transit Administration. The data reflects rising American usage of buses, light rail, subways and other modes of public transportation by workers, students, and those traveling for weekend leisure time. US transit agencies provided 6.9 billion trips and moved passengers a total of 35 billion miles, both about a 17% increase in 2023 year over year. That is twice the growth of domestic air travel within the same period. Mass transit also had solid employment growth during the same period adding 10,000 jobs and boosting salaries by $1 billion, per the FTA data. By the end of 2023 about 388,000 people worked in operations, maintenance, and administrative mass transit positions.
- Staffing problems, aging air traffic control equipment, and government-induced chaos from the Trump administration’s culling of staff at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have disrupted air travel in early 2025. Shortly after taking office, Trump and Elon Musk’s government efficiency department began cutting FAA staffing citing diversity initiatives. Amidst the cuts, several fatal air collisions and ground mishaps occurred in quick succession. The staff cuts at the FAA came despite years of warnings by government officials of air traffic controller staffing shortfalls due to low pay, long hours, and the significant stress that goes with the job. Alongside these challenges, the Transportation Department is reviewing a 15-year, $2.4 billion contract with Verizon to upgrade air traffic equipment, saying the company isn’t moving fast enough.
- The warehousing industry’s building boom of the last several years - brought on largely by increased demand of US e-commerce fulfillment services - might have increased overall warehouse space but is also squeezing out smaller customers. According to real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, warehouses in the US smaller than 100,000 square feet have a vacancy rate of 3.9% in Q4 of 2024, far lower than the industry average of 6.7%. The vacancy rate for warehouses larger than 100,000 square feet was even higher at 10.1%. And only 8% of new warehouses built last year were under the 100K threshold. Smaller warehouses are needed in more rural and suburban areas where land is more scarce and costly. The data reflects a growing disparity between smaller businesses needing less and more geographically spread-out storage space, and the e-commerce giants working out of sprawling, centralized distribution centers.
- Transportation and warehousing sector employment increased moderately and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first 10 months of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Transportation and warehousing sector prices increased slightly during the first 10 months of 2024. Transportation and warehousing sector sales are forecast to grow at a 4.2% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, comparable to the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.
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