Determine shipping methods, routes, or rates for materials to be shipped.

“Determine shipping methods, routes, or rates for materials to be shipped.” is a core task performed by Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks. Among the occupation's 11 rated tasks, workers place it 3rd by importance (#9 most important). About 72% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Analyze data to improve operations. in Analyzing Data or Information

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E2. Exposure with tools — software built on top of a language model (not the model alone) could cut the time by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.50. Automation potential label: T3.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Examine shipment contents and compare with records, such as manifests, invoices, or orders, to verify accuracy. · importance 4.2
• Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials. · importance 4.0
• Requisition and store shipping materials and supplies to maintain inventory of stock. · importance 4.0
• Pack, seal, label, or affix postage to prepare materials for shipping, using hand tools, power tools, or postage meter. · importance 4.0
• Record shipment data, such as weight, charges, space availability, damages, or discrepancies, for reporting, accounting, or recordkeeping purposes. · importance 4.0
• Confer or correspond with establishment representatives to rectify problems, such as damages, shortages, or nonconformance to specifications. · importance 4.0
• Deliver or route materials to departments using handtruck, conveyor, or sorting bins. · importance 3.9
• Contact carrier representatives to make arrangements or to issue instructions for shipping and delivery of materials. · importance 3.8
• Compute amounts, such as space available, shipping, storage, or demurrage charges, using computer or price list. · importance 3.7
• Compare shipping routes or methods to determine which have the least environmental impact. · importance 3.7

See all tasks on the Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks page.

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
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-20279,
  title  = {Determine shipping methods, routes, or rates for materials to be shipped.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-20279}
}