Will AI replace First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators?

What this score means

First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators is among the least exposed roles in Transportation. Most of what the job involves still sits outside what current AI can do, even as the tools around it keep changing. At 24 out of 100 it scores 6 points above the Transportation average of 18. Across the 3 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 14 to 31, so the score is a weighted consensus rather than any single figure.

The number is a consensus estimate for the typical version of the role, built from published academic and industry research scored occupation by occupation. It is not a prediction about any individual. How scoring works

What this job actually involves

Exposure follows the work itself rather than the job title, so it is worth seeing what the role is made of. These are the tasks O*NET records for First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators, most central first, showing 12 of 22.

• 01Drive vehicles or operate machines or equipment to complete work assignments or to assist workers.
• 02Enforce safety rules and regulations.
• 03Interpret transportation or tariff regulations, shipping orders, safety regulations, or company policies and procedures for workers.
• 04Resolve worker problems or collaborate with employees to assist in problem resolution.
• 05Confer with customers, supervisors, contractors, or other personnel to exchange information or to resolve problems.
• 06Plan work assignments and equipment allocations to meet transportation, operations or production goals.
• 07Examine, measure, or weigh cargo or materials to determine specific handling requirements.
• 08Explain and demonstrate work tasks to new workers or assign training tasks to experienced workers.
• 09Review orders, production schedules, blueprints, or shipping or receiving notices to determine work sequences and material shipping dates, types, volumes, or destinations.
• 10Inspect or test materials, stock, vehicles, equipment, or facilities to ensure that they are safe, free of defects, and consistent with specifications.
• 11Maintain or verify records of time, materials, expenditures, or crew activities.
• 12Requisition needed personnel, supplies, equipment, parts, or repair services.

Task statements from O*NET by the National Center for O*NET Development, used under CC BY 4.0. The tasks are descriptive; the exposure score above is ours.

The research behind this score

This baseline aggregates 3 research sources that scored First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators for AI and automation exposure. More recent, higher confidence studies carry more weight in the final number.

• 01Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure · 2025
• 02GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs · 2024
• 03AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023

Also covers

Building Materials Supervisor · Bus Dispatcher Supervisor · Bus Driver Supervisor · Cab Dispatcher Supervisor · Cab Supervisor · Car Supervisor · Cargo Manager · Cargo Supervisor and related titles

More transportation occupations

• Air Traffic Controllers28/100
• Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors13/100
• Airfield Operations Specialists29/100
• Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers19/100
• Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians14/100
• Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants11/100
• Aviation Inspectors23/100
• Bridge and Lock Tenders17/100