Industry group, 4869
Other Pipeline Transportation
7,000 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $97,130 a year (BLS, May 2025). What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.
of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 4.1 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 39%
- 10%
- 51%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 29% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 3,420 people in jobs so far, 49% of the industry's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
about 1.5 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 607,501 hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 497,952 hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.
What their work is made of
- 28%
- 9%
- 8%
- 7%
- 48%
Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.
What changes for the people
For the 3,420 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.
What most people here would learn first
How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US
- The hands-on craft1,930 (56%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself1,630 (48%)
- Judgment where errors are severe1,500 (44%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts1,210 (35%)
- The conversations210 (6%)
- Running AI inside the business systems170 (5%)
- Signing off under your license40 (1%)
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this industry's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 25%. Today's estimate: 34%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 56% of the working time of the people in this industry as physical work. For 47% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 19% in a purpose-built cell, 28% in a structured facility. 0.76 of 3.
- Not physical 44%
- No robot shown 9%
- In a purpose-built cell 19%
- In a structured facility 28%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 24 largest jobs hold 95% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers | 1,980 | 45% | 1.9 million | $96K |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 910 | 14% | 261,206 | $57K |
| General and Operations Managers | 220 | 45% | 205,922 | $166K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers | 190 | 48% | 188,512 | $132K |
| Project Management Specialists | 130 | 58% | 156,562 | $138K |
| Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers | 210 | 27% | 116,189 | $94K |
| Compliance Officers | 100 | 54% | 112,113 | $108K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers | 100 | 47% | 97,969 | $119K |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | 130 | 32% | 86,530 | $134K |
| Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers | 140 | 29% | 85,613 | $91K |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 70 | 59% | 85,468 | $44K |
| Accountants and Auditors | 90 | 45% | 84,430 | $108K |
People: BLS counts for this industry, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this industry, else its mean, else the national median. 7 smaller jobs (280 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 83% of the industry's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.
The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028
Across the whole industry, on the chosen pace and reliability.
- Plan movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of system interconnections and capacities.Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers445,240 hours100% of the task within reach
- Monitor process indicators, instruments, gauges, and meters to detect and report any possible problems.Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers369,503 hours100% of the task within reach
- Operate control panels to coordinate and regulate process variables such as temperature and pressure, and to direct product flow rate, according to process schedules.Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers277,045 hours100% of the task within reach
- Coordinate shutdowns and major projects.Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers235,887 hours100% of the task within reach
- Record and compile operating data, instrument readings, documentation, and results of laboratory analyses.Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers175,238 hours100% of the task within reach
- Read and analyze specifications, schedules, logs, test results, and laboratory recommendations to determine how to set equipment controls to produce the required qualities and quantities of products.Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers147,274 hours100% of the task within reach
- Synchronize activities with other pumphouses to ensure a continuous flow of products and a minimum of contamination between products.Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers97,071 hours100% of the task within reach
- Prepare calculations for receipts and deliveries of oil and oil products.Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers93,364 hours100% of the task within reach
- Maintain logs of working hours or of vehicle service or repair status, following applicable state and federal regulations.Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers77,510 hours100% of the task within reach
- Plan movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of interconnections and capacities of pipelines, valve manifolds, pumps, and tankage.Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers50,351 hours100% of the task within reach
Scan a typical company in this industry
The industry's largest jobs, in the proportions BLS counts across the whole industry, at the pay it pays, run through the company scan. A starting point before you have a roster, or a benchmark for the one you have. Or choose the whole industry: every occupation BLS publishes for it with task data, at its nationwide headcount, the sector report ($249 for the full report, or included in Pro).
Next to this industry
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this industry; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works
Questions about this industry
- How much of the work in Other Pipeline Transportation is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 34% of the paid hours in Other Pipeline Transportation are within reach of AI models now and 39% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (38% to 39% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which jobs in Other Pipeline Transportation carry the most hours within reach?
- By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers (1,980 people, 45% of their time, about 1.9 million hours a year); Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (910 people, 14% of their time, about 261,206 hours a year); and General and Operations Managers (220 people, 45% of their time, about 205,920 hours a year).
- Which tasks in Other Pipeline Transportation carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Plan movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of system interconnections and capacities (Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers, about 445,240 hours a year); Monitor process indicators, instruments, gauges, and meters to detect and report any possible problems (Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers, about 369,503 hours a year); and Operate control panels to coordinate and regulate process variables such as temperature and pressure, and to direct product flow rate, according to process schedules (Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers, about 277,045 hours a year).
- What would people working in Other Pipeline Transportation learn first?
- Among the 3,420 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are the hands-on craft (1,930 people); reviewing work you did not do yourself (1,630 people); and judgment where errors are severe (1,500 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 63% of their working time stays with people, 31% becomes checking a model's work and 5% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- How is this estimated?
- BLS counts the people in each occupation in Other Pipeline Transportation (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 83% of its people, and 49% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.