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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Transportation Inspectors?
Task-level automation exposure for Transportation Inspectors: 17 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
43%
weighted task index
17 of 17 tasks scored
Median Salary
$92,100 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
24,500 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+2.2%
employment change
2,300 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 46 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$29,760 – $123,120
Highest medians
Alaska $123,120
Iowa $116,850
Oklahoma $111,070
Hawaii $108,270
Alabama $108,140
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $29,760
Michigan $35,890
Illinois $47,990
New Jersey $49,250
Nevada $50,060
State figures come from the 53-6051 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 43%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 0%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 11%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 13%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 3/100
Low
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
17 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 37%
6 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 6%
1 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 57%
10 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#23850 · Core · 82% automatable
Prepare and submit reports after completion of freight shipments.
text generation — Log delivery details into structured records
Record details of deliveries or shipments.
#23851 · Core · 22% automatable
Inspect shipments to ensure that freight is securely braced and blocked.
visual inspection — Cargo securing inspection is hands-on physical verification
Inspect cargo to ensure it is properly loaded or secured.
#23852 · Core · 82% automatable
Record details about freight conditions, handling of freight, and any problems encountered.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#23853 · Core · 62% automatable
Advise crews in techniques of stowing dangerous and heavy cargo.
information retrieval — AI explains policies; human handles live questions
Explain regulations, policies, or procedures.
#23854 · Core · 33% automatable
Observe loading of freight to ensure that crews comply with procedures.
visual inspection — Loading oversight is physical, in-the-world supervision
Monitor loading processes to ensure they are performed properly.
#23855 · Core · 66% automatable
Recommend remedial procedures to correct any violations found during inspections.
decision support — Proposes corrective procedures; human verifies applicability
Recommend changes or corrective procedures.
#23856 · Core · 22% automatable
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.
visual inspection — Cargo securing inspection is hands-on physical verification
Inspect cargo to ensure it is properly loaded or secured.
#23857 · Core · 35% automatable
Notify workers of any special treatment required for shipments.
situated mobility — Vehicle movement coordination is real-time physical
Communicate with others to coordinate vehicle movement.
#23858 · Core · 22% automatable
Direct crews to reload freight or to insert additional bracing or packing as necessary.
physical manipulation — Material handling direction is on-floor supervision
Direct material handling or moving activities.
#23859 · Core · 25% automatable
Check temperatures and humidities of shipping and storage areas to ensure that they are at appropriate levels to protect cargo.
visual inspection — Monitoring cargo conditions is physical/sensor-based
Monitor cargo area conditions.
#23860 · Core · 80% automatable
Determine cargo transportation capabilities by reading documents that set forth cargo loading and securing procedures, capacities, and stability factors.
information retrieval — Parse work orders into procedures reliably
Review work orders or schedules to determine operations or procedures.
#23861 · Core · 22% automatable
Read draft markings to determine depths of vessels in water.
physical manipulation — Hands-on depth/level measurement in field
Measure the level or depth of water or other liquids.
#23864 · Supplemental · 12% automatable
Post warning signs on vehicles containing explosives or flammable or radioactive materials.
physical manipulation — Physically marking objects requires manipulation
Mark materials or objects for identification.
#23865 · Supplemental · 26% automatable
Measure heights and widths of loads to ensure they will pass over bridges or through tunnels on scheduled routes.
physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of material
Measure product or material dimensions.
#23868 · Core · 70% automatable
Calculate gross and net tonnage, hold capacities, volumes of stored fuel and water, cargo weights, and vessel stability factors, using mathematical formulas.
data analysis — Weight/volume calculations from given data
Calculate weights, volumes or other characteristics of materials.
#23869 · Core · 22% automatable
Measure vessels' holds and depths of fuel and water in tanks, using sounding lines and tape measures.
physical manipulation — Hands-on depth/level measurement in field
Measure the level or depth of water or other liquids.
#23870 · Core · 22% automatable
Visually inspect cargo for damage upon arrival or discharge.
visual inspection — Property condition assessment requires physical presence
Examine condition of property or products.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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