Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 53-7051.00
Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Low· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.000
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.20
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Show 10 hidden tasks11 rated tasks · 1 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (9.1%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- 2 rated tasks are not in the O*NET 31.0 task list; their scores are kept as published for O*NET 27.2.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Weigh materials or products and record weight or other production data on tags or labels.O*NET Task ID 3206 | 0.5 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (9)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas. | Core |
| 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. | Core |
| Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas. | Core |
| Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery. | Core |
| Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles. | Core |
| Perform routine maintenance on vehicles or auxiliary equipment, such as cleaning, lubricating, recharging batteries, fueling, or replacing liquefied-gas tank. | Supplemental |
| Weigh materials or products and record weight or other production data on tags or labels. | Supplemental |
| Operate or tend automatic stacking, loading, packaging, or cutting machines. | Supplemental |
| Turn valves and open chutes to dump, spray, or release materials from dump cars or storage bins into hoppers. | Supplemental |
1.96/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas. | E2 structured facilities |
| 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. | E2 structured facilities |
| Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas. | E2 structured facilities |
| Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery. | E2 structured facilities |
| Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles. | E2 structured facilities |
| Perform routine maintenance on vehicles or auxiliary equipment, such as cleaning, lubricating, recharging batteries, fueling, or replacing liquefied-gas tank. | E2 structured facilities |
| Weigh materials or products and record weight or other production data on tags or labels. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Operate or tend automatic stacking, loading, packaging, or cutting machines. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Turn valves and open chutes to dump, spray, or release materials from dump cars or storage bins into hoppers. | E2 structured facilities |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 765K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 776K
- Change (2025–35)
- +1.5%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $46,420
- Typical education needed for entry
- No formal educational credential
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 87304 | 지게차 운전원 | Same scope | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 8344Lifting Truck Operators
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Lifting-truck operators drive, operate and monitor lifting trucks or similar vehicles to transport, lift and stack pallets with goods.
Tasks
- (a) operating and monitoring lifting truck and similar equipment to load and unload, transport, lift and stack goods and pallets in terminals, harbours, warehouses, factories and other establishments;
- (b) positioning lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids and boxes, and securing material or products for transport to designated areas;
- (c) inspecting equipment to identify wear and damage;
- (d) performing routine maintenance on vehicles and equipment;
- (e) keeping records of work undertaken and breakdowns of vehicles.
Example occupations
Forklift truck driver
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- forklift operatorESCO 8344.1This occupation is broader
Forklift operators are responsible for operating forklifts to move, locate, relocate, stack, and count merchandise. They are accountable for the safe and efficient operation of forklifts. Moreover, they perform the filling of orders and check the accuracy of other orders.
- cargo vehicle driverESCO 8332.2Overlapping, not the same
Cargo vehicle drivers operate vehicles such as trucks and vans. They may also take care of the loading and unloading of cargo.
- moving truck driverESCO 8332.7Overlapping, not the same
Moving truck drivers operate lorries or trucks intended for relocating and transporting goods, belongings, machinery, and others. They assist in placing goods in the truck for efficient use of space and security compliance.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| N1101 | Cariste | Same scopeprovisional |
| N1114 | Conducteur / Conductrice d'engins lourds de manutention | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 8333 | Operadores de carretillas elevadoras | Same scopeprovisional |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 52531 | Kranführer/innen, Aufzugsmaschinisten und Bediener/innen verwandter Hebeeinrichtungen - Helfer-/Anlerntätigkeiten | Same scopeprovisional |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 639 | 他に分類されない輸送従事者 | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources