Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
In short: today's best AI models could do about 9% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 91% of the time, stays with people.
Manually move freight, stock, luggage, or other materials, or perform other general labor. Includes all manual laborers not elsewhere classified.
2,950,280 people do this job in the US. $40,240 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on4 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people36 h
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 4 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 36 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Record units handled (about 3 h); Read work orders or take instructions (under an hour).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 2%
- 7%
- 0%
- 2%
- 89%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 9% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
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, 3%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 9%. Today's estimate: 9%.
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.
Measured use over time
None of this job's 13 tasks showed up in the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled in any of its 7 releases, from February 2025 to May 2026.
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 89% of this job's working time as physical work. For 89% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 33% in a purpose-built cell, 57% in a structured facility. 1.46 of 3, the 23rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 11%
- In a purpose-built cell 33%
- In a structured facility 57%
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. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
91% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Keep storage areas in order, the hands-on work, 25%
- Move freight and stock, the hands-on work, 21%
- Brace, pad and strap loads, the hands-on work, 16%
- Sort cargo, the hands-on work, 10%
- Build containers and crates, the hands-on work, 4%
- Adjust controls to position equipment, the hands-on work, 3%
What becomes checking the machine
No desk work within reach by then in tasks where a mistake costs something. Another 9% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
What to learn
- The hands-on craft. About 89% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Where a model fell short: Short, usable, and nothing invented. In a graded attempt at "Read work orders or take instructions", the model missed this. It is a place a person's check matters.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 13 tasks from . One has a worked example.
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain equipment storage areas to ensure that inventory is protected.Tidying and protecting stored equipment by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, KNAPP Evo Crane pallet stacker crane (pallet AS/RS) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 25% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Move freight, stock, or other materials to and from storage or production areas, loading docks, delivery vehicles, ships, or containers, by hand or using trucks, tractors, or other equipment.Moving goods by hand or with a truck.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Fox Robotics FoxBot autonomous forklift (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 21% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Install protective devices, such as bracing, padding, or strapping, to prevent shifting or damage to items being transported.Securing freight by hand.Done hourly or more by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Handle-It FA4000 Automatic Conveyor Pallet Wrapper (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 16% | 21 min8 min to 38 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Sort cargo before loading and unloading.Sorting freight by hand.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Amazon Robin (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Record numbers of units handled or moved, using daily production sheets or work tickets.Counts entered on the production sheet or work ticket.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 21 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Read work orders or receive oral instructions to determine work assignments or material or equipment needs.Reading the order or hearing it from the lead; the knowing is the worker's own.Done daily by most who do it. See it done: one graded attempt (passes with named fixes) | 5% | 7 min3 min to 13 min | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Assemble product containers or crates, using hand tools and precut lumber.Assembling crates with hand tools.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, RIMAC automated nailing machines (Skytt, Punto TM5, Rotor TM2, Portale TM6) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 42 min17 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Adjust controls to guide, position, or move equipment, such as cranes, booms, or cameras.Working the controls of a crane or boom at the load.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a structured facility, Morgan Automation automated coil-handling crane system (with Siemens drives/PLCs) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 17 min4 min to 38 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Attach identifying tags to containers or mark them with identifying information.Tagging by hand.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Videojet 9560 print-and-apply case labeler (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 10 min4 min to 17 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Pack containers and re-pack damaged containers.Packing by hand.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Amazon automated made-to-fit paper-bag packaging machines (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 33 min13 min to 58 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Carry needed tools or supplies from storage or trucks and return them after use.Carrying by hand.Done more than weekly by most who do it.Robots: in a structured facility, Proteus (Amazon Robotics) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 10 min4 min to 17 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Attach slings, hooks, or other devices to lift cargo and guide loads.Rigging loads by hand, where a slip can hurt someone.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Morgan Automation automated coil cranes with Cephas logistics system (Siemens drives/PLC) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 15 min4 min to 25 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
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. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% 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.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 9% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 9% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. 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 tasks of Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Record units handled (100% of the task's time now); and Read work orders or take instructions (50% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Keep storage areas in order; Move freight and stock; and Brace, pad and strap loads. Together such tasks are about 89% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are the hands-on craft. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 91% of the working time stays with people, 0% becomes checking a model's work and 9% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 89% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 89% of the working time, 57% in a structured facility. Its index is 1.46 of 3. One example: Fox Robotics FoxBot autonomous forklift for "move freight and stock". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 13 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), 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. Data checked November 10, 2026. The Work Bench has 1 worked example of its tasks: a brief, a rubric written beforehand, one attempt by an AI model and its grade.
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