US dataswitch to UK
Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders
sealing outlet valves on tank cars, monitoring product movement to and from storage tanks and copying and attaching load specifications to loaded tanks. If that's your week, this page is about your job.
The honest answer
AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: checking conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures is work software can't reach.
What shifts is recording operating data, products and quantities pumped, gauge readings and operating times, manually or using computers: the overhead at the edges, not the middle you trained for.
Your week, as this page understands it
Load and unload chemicals and bulk solids, such as coal, sand, and grain, into or from tank cars, trucks, or ships, using material moving equipment. May perform a variety of other tasks relating to shipment of products. May gauge or sample shipping tanks and test them for leaks. The job title says “tank car”, “truck” or “ship loaders”: officially one job, several names. The real job is the part underneath: checking conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures. That is the thing someone has to be right about.
The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But tank car, truck, and ship loaders is not one task. It is 19 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is checking conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures, and the ledger below shows exactly why.
Where the work sits, by task weight
- shifting to AI
- 7%
- changing shape
- 0%
- staying human
- 93%
These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.
Whole-job exposure score 9 out of 100 (7–14 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 19 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.
How we know this
What is measured: Every published task statement for tank car, truck, and ship loaders is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.
How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.
Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.
Your job, task by task
These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.
- 2 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
Shifting to AI
1 taskTasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.
Recording operating data, products and quantities pumped, gauge readings and operating times, manually or using computers
This is reading one thing and writing another: data, products and quantities pumped in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, gauge readings, and operating times, manually or using computers.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 69 out of 100 (65–73 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Quantities pumped, gauge readings and operating times are routine numbers that metering systems already record automatically.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Changing shape
0 tasksTasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.
Nothing in this job’s scored task list landed in this group. That is the measurement, not an editorial choice, and it is worth knowing either way.
Staying human
18 tasksTasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.
Verifying tank car, barge or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions
This work happens in the physical world: tank car, barge or truck load numbers, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 32 out of 100 (25–39 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Matching load numbers to instructions is a checking task, but the numbers are on vehicles out in the yard.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Checking conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures
This work happens in the physical world: conditions, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Check conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–7 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Judging whether a vessel is clean and correctly loaded means climbing up and looking.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Sealing outlet valves on tank cars
This work happens in the physical world: outlet valves, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Sealing valves on a tank car or truck is done by hand at the vehicle.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Monitoring product movement to and from storage tanks
This work happens in the physical world: product movement, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Monitor product movement to and from storage tanks, coordinating activities with other workers to ensure constant product flow.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 12 out of 100 (5–19 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Flow data can be tracked automatically, but keeping product moving means being on site with the crew.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Starting pumps and adjusting valves or cables to regulate the flow of products
This work happens in the physical world: pumps, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products to vessels, using knowledge of loading procedures.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Starting pumps and adjusting valves is hands-on operation of the equipment.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Observing positions of cars passing loading spouts
This work happens in the physical world: positions of cars passing loading spouts, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Observe positions of cars passing loading spouts, and swing spouts into the correct positions at the appropriate times.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Swinging a loading spout into position as cars pass is physical timing work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Operating ship loading and unloading equipment
This work happens in the physical world: ship, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Operate ship loading and unloading equipment, conveyors, hoists, and other specialized material handling equipment such as railroad tank car unloading equipment.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Operating loaders, conveyors and hoists is physical machine operation.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Operating industrial trucks, tractors
This work happens in the physical world: industrial trucks, tractors, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Operate industrial trucks, tractors, loaders, and other equipment to transport materials to and from transportation vehicles and loading docks, and to store and retrieve materials in warehouses.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Driving industrial trucks and loaders around a site is physical work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Testing samples for specific gravity
This work happens in the physical world: samples, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Test samples for specific gravity, using hydrometers, or send samples to laboratories for testing.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Drawing and testing a sample with a hydrometer means handling the liquid.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Show the other 9 tasks
Copying and attaching load specifications to loaded tanks
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: load specifications, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Copy and attach load specifications to loaded tanks.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 19 out of 100 (12–26 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: The specification itself is easy to generate, but someone still has to walk out and fix it to the tank.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Connecting ground cables to carry off static electricity when unloading tanker cars
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: ground cables, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · SupplementalSource: “Connect ground cables to carry off static electricity when unloading tanker cars.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Connecting ground cables to a tanker is a hands-on safety step.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Removing and replacing tank car dome caps
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: tank car dome caps, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Remove and replace tank car dome caps, or direct other workers in their removal and replacement.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Removing and replacing dome caps is heavy manual work on the tank.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Lowering gauge rods into tanks or reading meters to verify contents
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: gauge rods, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Lower gauge rods into tanks or read meters to verify contents, temperatures, and volumes of liquid loads.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Lowering a gauge rod into a tank means being on top of the tank.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Cleaning interiors of tank cars or tank trucks
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: interiors of tank cars, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Clean interiors of tank cars or tank trucks, using mechanical spray nozzles.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Cleaning the inside of a tank car is physical work inside the vessel.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Operating conveyors and equipment to transfer grain or other materials from transportation vehicles
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: conveyors, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Operate conveyors and equipment to transfer grain or other materials from transportation vehicles.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Operating conveyors to move grain off vehicles is physical equipment work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Testing vessels for leaks, damage and defects and repairing or replacing defective parts
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: vessels, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Test vessels for leaks, damage, and defects, and repair or replace defective parts as necessary.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Finding leaks and replacing damaged parts is hands-on inspection and repair.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Unloading cars containing liquids by connecting hoses to outlet plugs and pumping compressed air into cars to force liquids into storage tanks
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: cars containing liquids, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Unload cars containing liquids by connecting hoses to outlet plugs and pumping compressed air into cars to force liquids into storage tanks.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Connecting hoses and pumping cars out is physical unloading work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Performing general warehouse activities, such as opening containers and crates
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: general warehouse activities, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Perform general warehouse activities, such as opening containers and crates, filling warehouse orders, assisting in taking inventory, and weighing and checking materials.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Opening crates, filling orders and counting stock is warehouse floor work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
What this job pays, and how many people do it
- Median pay
- $58,870a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this
Source: bls-oews
Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
Rounding: Shown as published.
- People doing this job
- 10,700in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.
Why this is shifting
The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: data, products and quantities pumped in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: recording operating data, products and quantities pumped, gauge readings and operating times. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where conditions get done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.
Your move
Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend
Start with what does not change: checking conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.
So, given all that: 7% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 0% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 93% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 19 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.
So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Recording operating data, products and quantities pumped, gauge readings and operating times is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.
This week: one thing
Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to data, products and quantities pumped, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.
- What you end up holding
- a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
- How long it takes
- ten minutes
If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether tank car, barge or truck load numbers are in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.
Over the next 90 days
Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near verifying tank car, barge or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.
Over the next 12 months
On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.
The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them
I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.
I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to tank car, truck, and ship loaders (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders: only about 8% of its durable work is work you already do and it pays 18.4% less. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 9/100 here, with only 7% of the task list in the top band, and “verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement…” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.
How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.
3 moves I checked and rejected
These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.
Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already test samples for specific gravity, using hydrometers, or send samples to laboratories for…, and their equivalent is to examine or test samples of processed substances, or collect samples for laboratory testing…. Across both published task lists that is about 8% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 8% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $48,040 against your $58,870, 18.4% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products…, and their equivalent is to turn valves and start pumps to start or regulate flows of substances. Across both published task lists that is about 5% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 5% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.
Chemical Plant and System Operators
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products…, and their equivalent is to start pumps to wash and rinse reactor vessels, to exhaust gases or vapors…. Across both published task lists that is about 5% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 5% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.
What I’d stop worrying about
A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.
The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 7% of its task weight, across 19 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like checking conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
Retraining out of a job that is holding up
On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.
You are reading the United States figures
The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Elementary storage occupations n.e.c. is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.
Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match
The other groups this work is counted across:
In UK official statistics this job is counted as Elementary storage occupations n.e.c., Delivery operatives, Warehouse operatives, Elementary storage supervisors and Air transport operatives. Pay is shown separately for each of those groups (medians cannot be averaged together), while the task list and the scores on this page are for this group only.
Your route through this
Where to go next, and what it costs
Free, and complete
The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Find local training
Search what's running near you, from the Labor Department's own database, before anyone sells you a course.
Free to search; individual programs vary, and some are funded
Anywhere in the US:
An American Job Center will sit down with you for free. Find yours by ZIP code.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Licensed occupations finder
Check what your state actually requires before you pay for anything.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
Free
No Space for this job, but one for what is happening to it
Nothing Collab365 runs is built for tank car / truck / ship loaders, and we are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.
There is one that is not about a job title at all. The AI Authority is about being the person who directs these tools at work rather than the person they get compared to. That is worth saying here, because 7% of the work on this page is already inside what they can do.
7 days free, no card needed. Explore up to 2 Spaces before you choose a plan: you pick a plan later, not now.
The AI Authority is a general community about working with AI, not a course for tank car / truck / ship loaders. You do not need it to act on anything here: the moves above cost nothing and stand on their own. The data on this page is the same either way.
Noted, and thank you. We’ll email you if a Space for tank car / truck / ship loaders launches. Nothing else.
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No deadline on any of this. The page will still be here, and the data is refreshed on a published schedule rather than when someone wants a headline.
Questions people ask about this job
- Will AI replace Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders?
- Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 19 official task statements scored for Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders (United States, SOC 53-7121), 7% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 9 out of 100 (range 7–14, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
- Which tasks in “Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders” can AI already do?
- The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, gauge readings, and operating times, manually or using computers” (69/100, high); “Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions” (32/100, low); “Copy and attach load specifications to loaded tanks” (19/100, minimal). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
- Which tasks in “Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders” stay human?
- About 93% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Perform general warehouse activities, such as opening containers and crates, filling warehouse orders, assisting in taking inventory, and weighing and checki…” (0/100, minimal); “Start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products to vessels, using knowledge of loading procedures” (0/100, minimal); “Unload cars containing liquids by connecting hoses to outlet plugs and pumping compressed air into cars to force liquids into storage tanks” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
- What should someone working in “Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders” do about AI?
- Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 7% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 93% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
- How is the AI exposure score for Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders calculated?
- Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 19 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.
Where these numbers come from
Worth knowing about these figures
- The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
- 2 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
- Task statements
- onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
- Task weights
- onet-db (im-rt)
- Scores
- Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
- Pay and employment
- bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))
Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.
The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.
The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.
Using these figures?
Cite this
Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.
Plain text
Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).
BibTeX
@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
title = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
author = {{Collab365}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
note = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published . Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.