← All 785 jobsFile 53-3032
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
Also filed here: Truck driver, Trucker, Lorry driver
Lightly edited
AI performs some of this work. Most of it still needs a person. The BLS expects 3.8% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #282 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +3.8% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $58,640 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 2.2 million in the US, with about 214,500 openings a year
The work, 22 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Operate transportation equipment or vehicles18%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes12%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain vehicles in working condition6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect vehicles5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect facilities or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Notify others of emergencies or problems4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Examine materials or documentation for accuracy or compliance4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 824 Copilot conversations and completed it 86% of the time.
Still yours: Maintain operational records4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Collect fares or payments4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Evaluate the quality or accuracy of data4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 683 Copilot conversations and completed it 82% of the time.
AI helps with this: Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,570 conversations, and it got them there 96% of the time.
AI helps with this: Operate communications equipment or systems4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,650 conversations, and it got them there 86% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
AI does this: Determine operational methods or procedures3%
AI performed this in about 1 in 461 Copilot conversations and completed it 93% of the time.
AI does this: Plan work activities3%
AI performed this in about 1 in 720 Copilot conversations and completed it 92% of the time.
AI helps with this: Purchase goods or services2%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 214 conversations, and it got them there 91% of the time.
Still yours: Dispose of waste or debris2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Package objects1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate energy production or distribution equipment1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Assemble equipment or components1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 104 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 214,500 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
BLS on AIBLS judged autonomous trucks too uncertain to model, and still projects growth. Source ↗
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 42% of the workCommercial Pilots16% AI does, against 25% here+5.2% by 2035 · $123,220 · Postsecondary certificate
- Shares 42% of the workBus Drivers, School16% AI does, against 25% here+0.7% by 2035 · $47,920 · High school diploma
- Shares 37% of the workCaptains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels20% AI does, against 25% here+4% by 2035 · $92,460 · Postsecondary certificate
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.14, higher than 48% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 53-3032 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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