NAICS Code 48-49 — Transportation and Warehousing

Sector in the official 2022 North American Industry Classification System (U.S. Census Bureau). It contains 11 direct sub-codes.

Code	48-49
Title	Transportation and Warehousing
Level	Sector (2-digit)
Edition	NAICS 2022 edition

Official definition (2022 NAICS)

The Sector as a Whole

The Transportation and Warehousing sector includes industries providing transportation of passengers and cargo, warehousing and storage for goods, scenic and sightseeing transportation, and support activities related to modes of transportation. Establishments in these industries use transportation equipment or transportation-related facilities as a productive asset. The type of equipment depends on the mode of transportation. The modes of transportation are air, rail, water, road, and pipeline.

The Transportation and Warehousing sector distinguishes three basic types of activities: subsectors for each mode of transportation, a subsector for warehousing and storage, and a subsector for establishments providing support activities for transportation. In addition, there are subsectors for establishments that provide passenger transportation for scenic and sightseeing purposes, postal services, and courier services.

A separate subsector for support activities is established in the sector because, first, support activities for transportation are inherently multimodal, such as freight transportation arrangement, or have multimodal aspects. Secondly, there are production process similarities among the support activity industries.

One of the support activities identified in the Support Activities for Transportation subsector is the routine repair and maintenance of transportation equipment (e.g., aircraft at an airport, railroad rolling stock at a railroad terminal, or ships at a harbor or port facility). Such establishments do not perform complete overhauling or rebuilding of transportation equipment (i.e., periodic restoration of transportation equipment to original design specifications) or transportation equipment conversion (i.e., major modification to systems). An establishment that primarily performs factory (or shipyard) overhauls, rebuilding, or conversions of aircraft, railroad rolling stock, or ships is classified in Subsector 336, Transportation Equipment Manufacturing, according to the type of equipment.

Many of the establishments in this sector often operate on networks, with physical facilities, labor forces, and equipment spread over an extensive geographic area.

Warehousing establishments in this sector are distinguished from merchant wholesaling in that the warehouse establishments do not sell the goods.

Excluded from this sector are establishments primarily engaged in providing travel agent, travel arrangement, and reservation services that support transportation establishments, hotels, other businesses, and government agencies. These establishments are classified in Sector 56, Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services. Establishments primarily engaged in providing rental and leasing of transportation equipment without operator are classified in Subsector 532, Rental and Leasing Services. Establishments primarily engaged in providing medical care with transportation are classified in Sector 62, Health Care and Social Assistance.

Codes under 48-49

Code	Title
481	Air Transportation
482	Rail Transportation
483	Water Transportation
484	Truck Transportation
485	Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
486	Pipeline Transportation
487	Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation
488	Support Activities for Transportation
491	Postal Service
492	Couriers and Messengers
493	Warehousing and Storage

Related Sector codes

• 11 — Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
• 21 — Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
• 22 — Utilities
• 23 — Construction
• 31-33 — Manufacturing
• 42 — Wholesale Trade
• 44-45 — Retail Trade
• 51 — Information
• 52 — Finance and Insurance
• 53 — Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
• 54 — Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• 55 — Management of Companies and Enterprises
• 56 — Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
• 61 — Educational Services
• 62 — Health Care and Social Assistance
• 71 — Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
• 72 — Accommodation and Food Services
• 81 — Other Services (except Public Administration)
• 92 — Public Administration

Data: official 2022 NAICS structure, descriptions and Census concordances, U.S. Census Bureau — U.S. government works in the public domain (17 U.S.C. §105). Suggested reference, not an official determination.