Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks
In short: today's best AI models could do about 53% 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 47% of the time, stays with people.
Verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory. Duties include verifying and recording incoming merchandise or material and arranging for the transportation of products. May prepare items for shipment.
816,870 people do this job in the US. $45,260 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 work17 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people19 h
Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 4 hours, 17 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 19 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Prepare bills of lading and shipping orders (about 5 h, a person checks); Choose shipping methods, routes and rates (about 4 h, a person checks); Record shipment data (about 3 h, a person checks).
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.
- 26%
- 27%
- 10%
- 0%
- 37%
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 53% 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, 4%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 53%. Today's estimate: 53%.
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
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 11 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.01% to 0.0065% (released February and March 2025); 0.0029% to 0.0073% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.01% | 535 of 708 | 3 of 11 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0065% | 555 of 703 | 1 of 11 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0029% | 589 of 655 | 1 of 11 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0065% | 538 of 672 | 1 of 11 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0073% | 534 of 677 | 2 of 11 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 11 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 11 |
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 55% of this job's working time as physical work. For 55% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 44% in a purpose-built cell, 10% in a structured facility. 0.65 of 3, the 270th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 45%
- In a purpose-built cell 44%
- In a structured facility 10%
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
47% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Pack, seal and label shipments, the hands-on work, 14%
- Check shipments against records, the hands-on work, 9%
- Deliver materials to departments, the hands-on work, 9%
- Resolve damages and shortages, the conversation, 7%
- Requisition and store shipping supplies, the hands-on work, 6%
- Arrange shipping with carriers, the conversation, 2%
What becomes checking the machine
44% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 10% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Prepare bills of lading and shipping orders, costly if wrong, 13%
- Choose shipping methods, routes and rates, costly if wrong, 9%
- Record shipment data, costly if wrong, 7%
- Compute space and shipping charges, costly if wrong, 5%
- Resolve damages and shortages, costly if wrong, 5%
- Check shipments against records, costly if wrong, 4%
What to learn
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- The hands-on craft. About 37% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Running AI inside the business systems. About 27% of the time is work inside business systems, which a model can do only once it is connected: knowing the systems well enough to set that up and watch it.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 26% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
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 . 11 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack, seal, label, or affix postage to prepare materials for shipping, using hand tools, power tools, or postage meter.Packing by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Sparck Technologies / Packsize CVP Impack (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 14% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Examine shipment contents and compare with records, such as manifests, invoices, or orders, to verify accuracy.Counting what arrived, then matching it to the paperwork.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Pickle Robot unload system + Ambi Robotics AmbiStack (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 13% | 17 min8 min to 50 min | Hands-on 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials.Shipping documents filled in on the system.Done daily by most who do it. | 13% | 21 min8 min to 38 min | Systems 80%, documents 20% | 100%Half by now |
| Confer or correspond with establishment representatives to rectify problems, such as damages, shortages, or nonconformance to specifications.Calls and letters with the other party.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Conversation 60%, documents 40% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Requisition and store shipping materials and supplies to maintain inventory of stock.Stocking by hand, with the requisition.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Seegrid Palion Lift (RS1/CR1) AMR (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 60%, systems 40% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Determine shipping methods, routes, or rates for materials to be shipped.Comparing options and rates.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 25 min13 min to 42 min | Documents 70%, systems 30% | 100%Half by now |
| Deliver or route materials to departments using handtruck, conveyor, or sorting bins.Moving goods by hand truck or conveyor.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Vecna APT Autonomous Pallet Truck (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Record shipment data, such as weight, charges, space availability, damages, or discrepancies, for reporting, accounting, or recordkeeping purposes.Entries in the shipping records.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 29 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Compare shipping routes or methods to determine which have the least environmental impact.A comparison on paper.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 33 min17 min to 1.3 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Compute amounts, such as space available, shipping, storage, or demurrage charges, using computer or price list.Calculation from the rate tables and the system.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Documents 60%, systems 40% | 100%Half by now |
| Contact carrier representatives to make arrangements or to issue instructions for shipping and delivery of materials.Calls with the carrier, with the booking entered.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min8 min to 38 min | Conversation 70%, systems 30% | 30%Desk part 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. 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.
- Postal Service Clerks19% now, 19% by 2028
- Stockers and Order Fillers19% now, 19% by 2028
- Cargo and Freight Agents50% now, 50% by 2028
- Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping30% now, 30% by 2028
- Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators1% now, 1% by 2028
- Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks72% now, 73% by 2028
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 Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 53% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 53% 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 Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks 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: Prepare bills of lading and shipping orders (100% of the task's time now); Choose shipping methods, routes and rates (100% of the task's time now); and Record shipment data (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Pack, seal and label shipments; and Deliver materials to departments. Together such tasks are about 23% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; the hands-on craft; and running AI inside the business systems. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 47% of the working time stays with people, 44% becomes checking a model's work and 10% 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 Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks?
- 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 Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 55% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 55% of the working time, 10% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.65 of 3. One example: Vecna APT Autonomous Pallet Truck for "deliver materials to departments". 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 11 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.
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