Crane and Tower Operators
Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.
42,890 people do this job in the US. $68,080 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 8%
- 0%
- 92%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 8%. Today's estimate: 8%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 11 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inspect and adjust crane mechanisms or lifting accessories to prevent malfunctions or damage.Done daily by most who do it. | 18% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Load or unload bundles from trucks, or move containers to storage bins, using moving equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 15% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect cables or grappling devices for wear and install or replace cables, as needed.Done daily by most who do it. | 14% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Move levers, depress foot pedals, or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets, or other moving equipment for lifting, moving, or placing loads.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 12% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Clean, lubricate, and maintain mechanisms such as cables, pulleys, or grappling devices, making repairs, as necessary.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect bundle packaging for conformance to regulations or customer requirements, and remove and batch packaging tickets.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 10% | 29 min13 min to 58 min | Stays with people | |
| Determine load weights and check them against lifting capacities to prevent overload.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Inspect crane site conditions to determine ground stability.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Direct helpers engaged in placing blocking or outrigging under cranes.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Direct truck drivers backing vehicles into loading bays and cover, uncover, or secure loads for delivery.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Review daily work or delivery schedules to determine orders, sequences of deliveries, or special loading instructions.Done daily by most who do it. | 1% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Hoist and Winch Operators0% now, 0% by 2028
- Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators0% now, 0% by 2028
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines5% now, 5% by 2028
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining10% now, 10% by 2028
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators9% now, 9% by 2028
- Riggers7% now, 7% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Other Specialty Trade Contractors9,950 people
- Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods (4232, 4233, 4235, 4236, 4237, and 4239 only)4,090 people
- Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing2,560 people
- Support Activities for Water Transportation2,190 people
- Rental and Leasing Services (5322, 5323, and 5324 only)1,760 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).