Sharing Transportation & Warehousing Subcategory From NCCI – Risk Management Gold
NCCI recently released an Industry Drill Down that contained so much good Risk Management information for the Transportation & Warehousing industry (and all other industries) that I thought should be shared with my blog and newsletter readers. The following two links contain great info. Yes, they are free and worth your time to review.
Industry Drill Down – The Next Level
While reviewing the information at the above link, the Transportation & Warehousing Category (at the following link) contained a subcategory with very surprising stats. No, it was not the spike in the number of claims in the Courier and Messenger subcategory. The number of claims was due to the heavy growth in hiring.
Industry-Drill-Down-One-Pagers-T-and-W.pdf
Most of the claims were less than $25,000. See #5 below. Why? Was it caused by good Risk Management practice by establishing a strong return-to-work (RTW) program in this industry? RTW programs save big $$$. A good RTW program has always been one of The Six Keys To Workers Comp Savings, written as a mini-guide for employers over 20 years ago.
The two frequency insight graphs in the slide below illustrate this point.
Core Economic Trends
1. T&W is the only industry with uninterrupted employment growth (2015–2023).
- Averaged 4.3% annual employment growth, far outpacing the all‑industry average.
- Growth persisted even through 2020, when most industries contracted.
2. Couriers & Messengers drove the surge.
- Pandemic‑era e‑commerce demand caused explosive hiring in this subsector.
- Their rapid expansion is the primary source of the industry’s structural changes.
Claim Frequency Dynamics
3. Since 2019, T&W frequency has grown slightly (+0.5% annually).
- This contrasts with the all‑industry decline in frequency.
- Over the longer 2015–2023 period, T&W frequency still trends downward overall (–1.1% annually), but less steeply than the all‑industry trend (–2.6%).
4. Frequency increases are concentrated in Couriers & Messengers.
- Their growth explains the post‑2019 uptick.
- As this subsector stabilizes, frequency may normalize.
5. Small claims (<$25K) are driving the increase.
- Larger claims remain stable.
- The rise in minor injuries suggests operational strain rather than catastrophic risk.
Labor Market Pressures
6. High churn is elevating risk.
- T&W experienced increased hires, quits, and layoffs, producing a shorter‑tenured workforce.
- Less experience correlates with higher accident likelihood.
Overall Takeaway
The Transportation & Warehousing sector is an outlier: strong, sustained employment growth—especially in delivery‑driven subsectors—has reshaped its risk profile. The influx of new, inexperienced workers and the operational intensity of courier work have pushed claim frequency slightly upward since 2019, driven mainly by small claims. As hiring stabilizes, frequency may moderate.
Please note that Microsoft Copilot was used to summarize some of the Transportation & Warehousing info.
