Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders: Career Profile
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.
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What Do Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders Take On?
The core tasks performed by tank car, truck, and ship loaders span:
- 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.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Successful tank car, truck, and ship loaders combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
These are the skills most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Types of Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders Jobs
Common job titles for this role include:
- Barge Loader
- Barges Loader
- Bulk Tank Car Unloader
- Car Loader
- Car Unloader
- Caustics Loader
- Coal Dumping Equipment Operator
- Dock Loader
Job Outlook
There are about 1,402,082 tank car, truck, and ship loaders working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +8.5% over the projection horizon.
Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $27,539 |
| Hourly median | $13.24 |
| 10th percentile | $20,000 |
| 25th percentile | $22,573 |
| 75th percentile | $32,506 |
| 90th percentile | $37,473 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $85,260 |
| Alaska | $83,330 |
| Maryland | $79,860 |
| South Carolina | $79,250 |
| Massachusetts | $74,060 |
| Illinois | $67,600 |
| Florida | $67,340 |
| Kentucky | $66,640 |
| New Hampshire | $63,220 |
| Pennsylvania | $62,850 |
| Louisiana | $62,300 |
| Missouri | $61,560 |
| California | $59,510 |
| Texas | $59,430 |
| Michigan | $59,370 |
| New Jersey | $59,050 |
| North Dakota | $58,450 |
| Maine | $58,320 |
| Tennessee | $57,250 |
| Nebraska | $57,210 |
| West Virginia | $56,620 |
| Iowa | $56,160 |
| Wisconsin | $54,560 |
| Ohio | $51,580 |
| Indiana | $49,280 |
| Utah | $47,540 |
| New York | $45,110 |
| North Carolina | $43,990 |
| Arkansas | $41,230 |
| Colorado | $40,320 |
| Georgia | $38,780 |
| Idaho | $38,460 |
| Oklahoma | $37,360 |
| Mississippi | $37,280 |
| Arizona | $35,110 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Compensation for tank car, truck, and ship loaders shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England | $71,198 | 2.4% | 0.74 |
| Middle Atlantic | $68,320 | 4.2% | 0.51 |
| Far Western US | $64,923 | 2.4% | 0.60 |
| Southeast | $64,775 | 31.8% | 3.89 |
| Plains States | $58,362 | 8.1% | 5.75 |
| Southwest | $57,990 | 29.5% | 2.56 |
| Great Lakes | $55,260 | 18.6% | 1.45 |
| Rocky Mountains | $40,802 | 3.1% | 0.89 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toledo, OH | OH | $105,520 | 90 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | PA | $81,280 | 40 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | RI | $80,920 | 110 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | MA | $77,440 | 130 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | TX | $77,070 | 110 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | KY | $75,470 | 150 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA | LA | $71,230 | 460 |
| Worcester, MA | MA | $70,090 | 50 |
Which Industries Hire Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders
The largest employers of tank car, truck, and ship loaders are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing | 6,840 | $60,190 |
| Manufacturing | 1,840 | $57,150 |
| Wholesale Trade | 960 | $44,160 |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 370 | $62,340 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 340 | $44,420 |
| Construction | 120 | $59,270 |
Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders work in the following industries:
Software Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders Use
- Operating system software: Linux (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software: SAP software (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
The work environment for tank car, truck, and ship loaders reflects the following characteristics:
- Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions
- Consequence of Error
- Exposed to Contaminants
Getting Started in This Career
Entry-level tank car, truck, and ship loaders positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining (Primary-Long)
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators (Supplemental)
- Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining (Primary-Short)
- Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (Supplemental)
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines (Primary-Long)
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics (Supplemental)
- Maintenance Workers, Machinery (Supplemental)
- Chemical Plant and System Operators (Supplemental)
Sources
Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 53-7121.00 (Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders).
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