AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 53-7051.00

Will AI replace Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators?

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators: AI can already handle 1 of 9 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs a standard-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 9 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators, from most to least exposed. 1 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Weigh materials or products and record weight or other production data on tags or labels. 90 Estimated Standard 4.3
Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Perform routine maintenance on vehicles or auxiliary equipment, such as cleaning, lubricating, recharging batteries, fueling, or replacing liquefied-gas tank. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Operate or tend automatic stacking, loading, packaging, or cutting machines. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Turn valves and open chutes to dump, spray, or release materials from dump cars or storage bins into hoppers. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Move levers or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to load, unload, transport, or stack material. 8 Estimated No tier 4.6
Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas. 8 Estimated No tier 4.5
Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles. 8 Estimated No tier 4.5

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 9 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 9 of 9. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

A standard-tier model or lower covers 34% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 34% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 66% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
774,420
Median annual wage
$46,420
Middle half of earners
$40,030 to $54,770
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+1.1%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators and AI

Will AI replace Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators?

AI already handles 1 of the 9 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 26 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +1.1% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators?

26 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 9 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 9 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Weigh materials or products and record weight or other production data on tags or labels. It is the only task that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A standard-tier model or lower covers 34% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 66% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators, and what do they earn?

774,420 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $46,420 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +1.1% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/industrial-truck-and-tractor-operators

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