Careers / Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders
Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$58,870
United States, 2025
Employment
10,700
United States, 2025
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
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.
- O*NET code
- 53-7121.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- None
Typical tasks
- Seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks.
- Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions.
- Start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products to vessels, using knowledge of loading procedures.
- Check conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures.
- Observe positions of cars passing loading spouts, and swing spouts into the correct positions at the appropriate times.
- Monitor product movement to and from storage tanks, coordinating activities with other workers to ensure constant product flow.
- Operate ship loading and unloading equipment, conveyors, hoists, and other specialized material handling equipment such as railroad tank car unloading equipment.
- Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, gauge readings, and operating times, manually or using computers.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$39,460
25th percentile
$46,300
75th percentile
$70,060
90th percentile
$83,160
Most important skills
- Operation and Control3.8
- Operations Monitoring3.8
- Reading Comprehension3.3
- Time Management3.1
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Complex Problem Solving3.0
- Monitoring3.0
- Active Listening3.0
- Writing3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Management of Personnel Resources2.9
- Coordination2.9
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 10 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
10
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operations Monitoring | 3.8 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Operation and Control | 3.8 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.3 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Monitoring | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Active Listening | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Time Management | 3.1 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Speaking | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Writing | 3.0 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Tank Car, Truck, and Ship LoadersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billings, MT | $83,390 | 50 | 2025 |
| Providence, RI | $83,160 | 70 | 2025 |
| Corpus Christi, TX | $81,920 | 60 | 2025 |
| MD | $81,320 | 110 | 2025 |
| SC | $80,700 | 90 | 2025 |
| MT | $80,070 | 80 | 2025 |
| Boston, MA | $77,490 | 80 | 2025 |
| Dallas, TX | $76,850 | 200 | 2025 |
| MN | $76,620 | — | 2025 |
| AL | $75,450 | 240 | 2025 |
| OR | $74,040 | — | 2025 |
| MA | $71,750 | 140 | 2025 |
| NH | $70,030 | 40 | 2025 |
| CA | $68,600 | 110 | 2025 |
| NJ | $64,890 | 120 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $64,890 | 120 | 2025 |
| Lake Charles, LA | $63,170 | 40 | 2025 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY | $63,100 | 60 | 2025 |
| New Orleans, LA | $62,200 | 210 | 2025 |
| Chicago, IL | $61,420 | 1,460 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.