NIOSH Fatal Occupational Injury Cost Fact Sheet: Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (NAICS 48, 49, 22)

Related Publications:
Air Transportation | Couriers/Messengers | Transit/Ground Transportation | Truck Transportation | Utilities | Warehousing/Storage | Water Transportation

Number, Rate, and Costs of Fatal Occupational Injuries in the U.S. Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities Industry Sector by Selected Characteristics, 2003–2006.

				Costs (2006 Dollars)
Characteristic		Number of Fatalities	Fatality Rate (per 100,000 workers)	Mean (thousands)	Median (thousands)	Total(millions)
All U.S. Industries		22,197	3.9	$960	$944	$21,316
All Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities		3,704	12.9	944	974	3,496
Industry Sector1
Utilities		225	4.8	1,250	1,290	281
Air Transportation		179	7.7	1,397	1,242	250
Rail Transportation		82	7.6	1,036	972	85
Water Transportation		112	45.2	1,051	1,040	118
Truck Transportation		2,167	27.8	902	1,000	1,954
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation		296	9.9	692	730	205
Pipeline Transportation		10	9.0	808	786	8
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation		31	23.2	1,145	1,082	36
Support Activities for Transportation		319	13.5	969	1,021	309
Postal Service		70	2.1	1,022	1,114	72
Couriers and Messengers		119	4.6	844	825	100
Warehousing and Storage		86	7.7	828	822	71
Year
	2003	863	12.4	917	940	792
	2004	926	13.2	966	999	895
	2005	958	13.0	927	970	888
	2006	957	12.8	963	997	921
Sex
	Male	3,526	16.1	935	969	3,298
	Female	178	2.6	1,113	1,085	198
Age Group
	16-19	17	4.8	843	793	14
	20-24	126	8.0	1,111	1,073	140
	25-34	593	11.1	1,247	1,197	739
	35-44	910	11.4	1,240	1,189	1,129
	45-54	1,067	12.6	978	946	1,043
	55-64	733	17.4	554	542	406
	65+	258	31.0	97	71	25
Race
	White	2,968	13.1	950	984	2,821
	Black	502	11.0	872	908	438
	Other2	234	14.4	1,015	1,045	237
Ethnicity1
	Not Hispanic	3,291	13.1	937	964	3,085
	Hispanic	375	10.5	1,006	1,067	377
Selected SOC Occupation Group
Construction and Extraction		60	9.1	1,064	1,121	64
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair		189	9.2	1,208	1,253	228
Management		41	1.9	1,537	1,580	63
Office and Administrative Support		108	1.5	894	830	97
Production		54	4.7	1,011	1,064	55
Transportation and Material Moving		3,184	26.4	915	956	2,913
Event or Exposure1
0*	Contact with objects and equipment	350	1.2	896	930	314
1*	Falls	157	0.5	739	726	116
2*	Bodily reaction and exertion	6	0.02	941	909	6
3*	Exposure to harmful substance or environment	171	0.6	1,188	1,193	203
4*	Transportation accidents	2,697	9.4	952	996	2,569
5*	Fires and explosions	47	0.2	1,105	1,076	52
6*	Assaults and violent acts	275	1.0	861	807	237
Source of Injury1
0*	Chemicals and chemical products	61	0.2	1,083	1,094	66,071
1*	Containers	62	0.2	812	802	50,347
3*	Machinery	66	0.2	882	897	58,204
4*	Parts and materials	162	0.6	1,117	1,139	181,015
5*	Persons, plants, animals, and minerals	36	0.1	909	959	32,738
6*	Structures and surfaces	178	0.6	785	786	139,647
7*	Tools, instruments, and equipment	23	0.1	810	771	18,639
8*	Vehicles	2,844	9.9	951	998	2,703,808

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NOTE: Asterisks denote a summary level code not assigned to individual cases.

¹Numbers are not reported for “unknown”, “not classified”, “unspecified”, “not reported” or “other” categories.

²This category includes all other races, such as American Indian and Asian, as well as unknown or missing races.

Fatal Occupational Injury Cost Model

Theoretical Basis of Cost Estimation

The cost to society of a workplace fatality was estimated using the cost-of-illness approach, which combines direct and indirect costs to yield an overall cost of an occupational fatal injury. For these calculations, only medical expenses were used to estimate the direct cost associated with the fatality. The indirect cost was derived by calculating the present value of future earnings summed from the year of death until the decedent would have reached age 67, accounting for the probability of survival were it not for the premature death. (For more information, see Biddle, E [2004]. Economic Cost of Fatal Occupational Injuries in the United States, 1980–1997. Contemporary Economic Policy 22(3):370–381 or Biddle, E [2009]. The Cost of Fatal Injuries to Civilian Workers in the US, 1992-2001and Biddle E and Keane P [2011]. The Economic Burden of Occupational Injuries to Civilian Workers in the United States, 1992-2002. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS.)

Mathematical Representation of Indirect Costs

where:

Variable	Definition
PVF	= present discounted value of loss per person due to an individual occupational fatal injury
Py,q,s (n)	= probability that a person of age y, race q, and sex s will survive to age n
q	= race of the individual
s	= sex of the individual
n	= age if the individual had survived
Ys, j(n)	= median annual compensation of an employed person of sex s, specific occupation j, and age n (includes median annual earnings, benefits, and wage growth adjustments)
j	= specific occupation of individual at death
	= mean annual imputed value of household production (h) of a person of sex s and age n
g	= earnings growth rate attributable to overall productivity
y	= age of the individual at death
r	= real discount rate (3%)

Data Sources

Fatality data: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). This research was conducted with restricted access to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. These data exclude military personnel, decedents with unknown age or sex, and fatalities occurring in New York City. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the BLS.

Probability of survival: National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics.

Median annual earnings: BLS Occupational Employment Statistics Survey. Wage data are based on the occupation of the decedent and the year and State of death adjusted by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Deflator to the base year of dollar. The wage growth adjustment, which is the rate of change in wages between age groups, was calculated by NIOSH using BLS Current Population Survey data.

Benefits: BLS Employer Cost for Employee Benefits. Benefits data are based on the year of death adjusted by the GDP Deflator.

Mean annual home production: Expectancy Data. Data are derived through a time diary study sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and conducted by the University of Maryland.

Earnings growth rate: BLS Employment Compensation Index (ECI).

Medical costs: National Council on Compensation Insurance. This is a single 4-year average medical cost.

Employment estimates for rate calculations: BLS Current Population Survey.

Fatality Rate Calculations

Fatality rates were calculated by NIOSH and may differ from previously published BLS CFOI rates. Fatality rates were calculated as deaths per 100,000 workers. Fatality rates for sex, race, age group, and occupation were calculated using employment estimates by the individual characteristic within the specific industry. Employment estimates for the specific industry were used to generate rates for event and source.

Classification Systems

Industry:	2002 National Industry Classification System (NAICS)
Occupation:	2000 Standard Occupational Classification System (SOC)
Event:	1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS)

NIOSH Fatal Occupational Injury Cost Fact Sheet: Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (NAICS 48, 49, 22) [PDF - 371 KB]