---
title: "Will AI Replace Forklift Operators? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates forklift operators' exposure to AI as low. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+1.5% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-forklift-operators"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Forklift Operators? (2026)

**Short answer:** Very unlikely. BLS rates forklift operators among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places forklift operators in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +1.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 64,700 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Low | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 62/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +1.5% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 64,700 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $46,420 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low (this job) | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Performing general physical activities: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Handling and moving objects: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Operating vehicles, mechanized devices, or equipment: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.7/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Repetitive motions: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Documenting/recording information: 3.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards: 3.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Getting information: 3.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles.
- Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery.
- Move levers or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to load, unload, transport, or stack material.
- Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas.
- Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas.

## Related careers that are also low-exposure

- [Crane and Tower Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/crane-and-tower-operator): BLS exposure Low, median $68,080; [Will AI replace crane operators?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-crane-operators)
- [Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/operating-engineer-and-other-construction-equipment-operator): BLS exposure Low, median $59,850; [Will AI replace heavy equipment operators?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-heavy-equipment-operators)
- [Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operator, Surface Mining](https://nuecareer.com/careers/excavating-and-loading-machine-and-dragline-operator-surface-mining): BLS exposure Low, median $57,430
- [Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Except Engines](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mobile-heavy-equipment-mechanic): BLS exposure Low, median $65,510; [Will AI replace mobile heavy equipment mechanics?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-mobile-heavy-equipment-mechanics)

## FAQ

**Will AI replace forklift operators?**

Very unlikely. BLS rates forklift operators among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +1.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 64,700 openings a year.

**How exposed are forklift operators to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Forklift Operators are in the low category, alongside 202 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of an industrial truck and tractor operator's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are repetitive motions, documenting/recording information and evaluating information to determine compliance with standards. The parts that hold up best are performing general physical activities, handling and moving objects and operating vehicles, mechanized devices, or equipment. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being an industrial truck and tractor operator a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, forklift operators score 62 out of 100, higher than 88% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $46,420 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to forklift operators are less exposed to AI?**

Crane and Tower Operator (low exposure, $68,080 median), Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator (low exposure, $59,850 median), Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operator, Surface Mining (low exposure, $57,430 median), Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Except Engines (low exposure, $65,510 median). Each is also in the low category, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-truck-and-tractor-operator.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology