Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Transportation Inspectors
Occupation · SOC 53-6051.00
Inspect equipment or goods in connection with the safe transport of cargo or people. Includes rail transportation inspectors, such as freight inspectors, rail inspectors, and other inspectors of transportation vehicles not elsewhere classified.
Also called: Cargo Surveyor · Marine Cargo Surveyor · Marine Surveyor · Petroleum Inspector · Inspector · Admeasurer · Bridge Inspector · Cargo Inspector · Container Inspector · Damaged Freight Inspector · Equipment Inspector · Freight Car Inspector
Job family: Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-53-6051-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+1.7% by 2034)
- 2,500 openings/yr
- Moderate AI exposure
- Median pay $85,750/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- 2013 flagged this for computerization (78th); today's AI task-overlap is comparatively low (45th)
45th-percentile task overlap — yet about 2,500 openings a year (+1.7% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 44th | -0.2 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 50th | 0.6 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate | 43rd | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.3), with simple added tooling (β 0.4), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.6). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Mixed signals. Today's AI/LLM studies show relatively low exposure for this job, but the older (2013) Frey–Osborne work rated it higher for computerization and robotics. Different eras, different technologies — the AI measures above reflect the current state.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.9 · 78th percentile among occupations · High
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Prepare and submit reports after completion of freight shipments. | 0.3% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | About average · +1.7% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 2,500 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 25,700 → 26,100 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Transportation Inspectors sits at the 44th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure eased from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
24% mean task exposure (2025)
44th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−8 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental and Occupational Health Inspectors and Associates · 3257 | 24% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 21 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Prepare and submit reports after completion of freight shipments. Core · importance 4.5
- Inspect shipments to ensure that freight is securely braced and blocked. Core · importance 4.5
- Record details about freight conditions, handling of freight, and any problems encountered. Core · importance 4.4
- Advise crews in techniques of stowing dangerous and heavy cargo. Core · importance 4.1
- Observe loading of freight to ensure that crews comply with procedures. Core · importance 4.1
- Post warning signs on vehicles containing explosives or flammable or radioactive materials. Supplemental · importance 4.1
- Recommend remedial procedures to correct any violations found during inspections. Core · importance 4.1
- Measure heights and widths of loads to ensure they will pass over bridges or through tunnels on scheduled routes. Supplemental · importance 4.0
- Inspect loaded cargo, cargo lashed to decks or in storage facilities, and cargo handling devices to determine compliance with health and safety regulations and need for maintenance. Core · importance 4.0
- Notify workers of any special treatment required for shipments. Core · importance 4.0
- Direct crews to reload freight or to insert additional bracing or packing as necessary. Core · importance 4.0
- Check temperatures and humidities of shipping and storage areas to ensure that they are at appropriate levels to protect cargo. Core · importance 3.9
- Determine cargo transportation capabilities by reading documents that set forth cargo loading and securing procedures, capacities, and stability factors. Core · importance 3.9
- Read draft markings to determine depths of vessels in water. Core · importance 3.8
- Calculate gross and net tonnage, hold capacities, volumes of stored fuel and water, cargo weights, and vessel stability factors, using mathematical formulas.
- Determine types of licenses and safety equipment required, and compute applicable fees such as tolls and wharfage fees. Supplemental
- Issue certificates of compliance for vessels without violations. Supplemental
- Measure vessels' holds and depths of fuel and water in tanks, using sounding lines and tape measures.
- Time rolls of ships, using stopwatches. Supplemental
- Visually inspect cargo for damage upon arrival or discharge.
- Write certificates of admeasurement that list details such as designs, lengths, depths, and breadths of vessels, and methods of propulsion. Supplemental
Work activities
- Record details of deliveries or shipments.
- Inspect cargo to ensure it is properly loaded or secured.
- Record operational or production data.
- Explain regulations, policies, or procedures.
- Monitor loading processes to ensure they are performed properly.
- Recommend changes or corrective procedures.
- Communicate with others to coordinate vehicle movement.
- Direct material handling or moving activities.
- Monitor cargo area conditions.
- Review work orders or schedules to determine operations or procedures.
- Measure the level or depth of water or other liquids.
- Mark materials or objects for identification.
- Measure product or material dimensions.
- Calculate weights, volumes or other characteristics of materials.
- Examine condition of property or products.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Transportation | 3.9 | |
| English Language | 3.8 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.5 | |
| Mathematics | 3.2 | |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.2 | |
| Administration and Management | 3.0 | |
| Mechanical | 3.0 | |
| Law and Government | 3.0 |
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 3.9 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.9 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.9 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.8 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.6 | |
| Written Expression | 3.6 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.6 | |
| Near Vision | 3.6 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.4 | |
| Far Vision | 3.4 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.4 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.3 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.3 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.3 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.1 | |
| Visualization | 3.1 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.1 | |
| Fluency of Ideas | 2.9 | |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.9 |
Essential skills
| Reading Comprehension | 3.6 | |
| Writing | 3.6 | |
| Speaking | 3.6 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.6 | |
| Active Listening | 3.5 | |
| Monitoring | 3.4 |
Transferable skills
| Time Management | 3.4 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.3 | |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.1 | |
| Coordination | 3.1 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.1 | |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.0 | |
| Systems Analysis | 2.9 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
| Example | Category | |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Excel | Spreadsheet software | Hot technology In demand |
| Microsoft Office software | Office suite software | Hot technology In demand |
| Microsoft Outlook | Electronic mail software | Hot technology In demand |
| Microsoft Word | Word processing software | Hot technology In demand |
| Adobe Acrobat | Document management software | Hot technology |
| Google Android | Operating system software | Hot technology |
| Email software | Electronic mail software | |
| Web browser software | Internet browser software |
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 4 — Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
- Preparation level
- SVP (7.0 to < 8.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Conventional | 6.2 | |
| Realistic | 5.7 | |
| Investigative | 2.9 | |
| Enterprising | 2.6 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 4.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 3.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 2.6 | |
| Integrity | 2.3 |
Interest areas
| Transportation/Machine Operation | 3.5 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 2.7 | |
| Protective Service | 2.5 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 2.4 | |
| Engineering | 2.4 | |
| Law | 2.1 | |
| Office Work | 2.0 | |
| Management/Administration | 2.0 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $40,090 |
| 25th percentile | $58,650 |
| Median (50th) | $85,750 |
| 75th percentile | $105,020 |
| 90th percentile | $137,120 |
| People employed | 23,320 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 7,520 | $79,860 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 1,800 | $40,830 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | 1,410 | $81,920 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 640 | $45,960 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 350 | $76,780 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 310 | $66,560 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 190 | $41,200 |
| Engineering Services · National industry | 120 | $88,920 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector | 70 | $84,460 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 50 | $66,560 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 6.73× | 7,520 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 2.69× | 1,800 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | 0.73× | 1,410 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 0.7× | 640 |
| Engineering Services · National industry | 0.69× | 120 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 0.26× | 350 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 0.19× | 310 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 0.08× | 190 |
Related occupations
Part of the Supply Chain & Transportation career cluster.
- Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspectors, Except Aviation · 53-6051.07 Compare →
- Aviation Inspectors · 53-6051.01 Compare →
- Construction and Building Inspectors · 47-4011.00 Compare →
- Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors · 53-1041.00 Compare →
- Ship Engineers · 53-5031.00 Compare →
- Cargo and Freight Agents · 43-5011.00 Compare →
- First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators · 53-1043.00 Compare →
- Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters · 53-4031.00 Compare →
- Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers · 51-9061.00 Compare →
- Airfield Operations Specialists · 53-2022.00 Compare →
- Locomotive Engineers · 53-4011.00 Compare →
- Agricultural Inspectors · 45-2011.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Transportation Inspectors — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 4 — Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed · preparation tier
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 44th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Transportation Inspectors show 45th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 2,500 annual U.S. openings
- Transportation Inspectors rank in the 45th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 2,500 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be about average (+1.7%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $85,750, across about 23,320 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Transportation Inspectors show 45th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 2,500 annual U.S. openings • Transportation Inspectors rank in the 45th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 2,500 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be about average (+1.7%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $85,750, across about 23,320 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Transportation Inspectors". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-6051-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Transportation Inspectors." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-6051-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Transportation Inspectors. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-6051-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-53-6051-00,
title = {Transportation Inspectors},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-6051-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.