2012 Economic Census
Business Help Site
Due Date
February 12, 2013
Sector 48-49
Transportation and Warehousing
This section provides information about census coverage and reporting for establishments in the Transportation and Warehousing sector. It includes answers to frequently asked questions about this sector and its census forms.
Establishments Covered
Transportation and warehousing establishments provide transportation of passengers and cargo warehousing and storage of goods, scenic and sightseeing transportation, and support activities related to modes of transportation. NAICS classifies establishments in the Transportation and Warehousing sector using numbers that start with 48 or 49. Transportation services establishments are sub-classified using numbers that start with 481 through 487; warehousing and storage services establishments are sub-classified using numbers that start with 493; transportation support services are sub-classified using numbers that start with 488; and courier services are sub-classified using numbers that start with 492 .
The Economic Census covers all transportation and warehousing establishments that operated during all or part of calendar year 2012, except for railroads and the U.S. Postal Service. Examples of establishments in this sector include:
- Transportation services establishments that provide transportation for passengers and cargo and use one or more transportation modes (air, rail, water, road, or pipeline).
- Warehousing and storage establishments that provide facilities to store general merchandise, refrigerated goods, and other products. They store products, keep them secure, and may provide related logistics services (such as breaking bulk, labeling, pricing, inventory management or transportation arrangement).
- Transportation support establishments that provide services to support transportation carriers or the general public. Services to carriers vary by transportation mode, and examples include air traffic control, railroad transportation services, motor vehicle services, floating dry-dock services, freight transportation arrangement services, and specialized freight trucking services.
- Transportation enterprise support establishments that provide trucking and warehousing services to other subsidiaries or establishments of the same enterprise (or company) and not to separate organizations or the general public.
Two kinds of transportation-related services are not covered in this NAICS sector. They are travel agent services provided to other establishments, such as hotels, other businesses, and government agencies (these are classified in sector 56, Administrative and Support, Waste Management, and Remediation Services), and transportation equipment rented or leased without operators (these are classified in sector 53, Real Estate and Rental and Leasing Services).
Census Mail Package
All covered transportation and warehousing establishments with paid employees will receive a census mail package that may include several types of materials. The materials are similar in content but customized to make reporting easier for different groups of transportation and warehousing establishments. Each establishment will receive an Information Sheet, and a census form. Companies with multiple operating establishments will receive the appropriate Information Sheet for every group of similar forms, and not necessarily one Information Sheet for every form.
Information Sheets provide general information about the census and instructions for reporting selected items on the census form. Single establishment businesses will receive Information Sheet UT-S_I_12. Multi-establishment businesses will receive either Information Sheet UT-M_I_12 or, if they are enterprise support establishments, Information Sheet UT-TW-A_I_12.
Census Forms describe each data item for transportation and warehousing establishments, and provide instructions and formats for reporting them. Census forms for transportation and warehousing services establishments are numbered TW-48xxx, and eight forms are available for use by different kinds of transportation and warehousing establishments.
Questions and Forms in this Sector
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icon indicate a document is in the Portable Document Format (PDF). To view the file you will need the Adobe® Reader, which is available for free from the Adobe web site.
