---
title: "Will AI Replace Shipping Clerks? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates shipping clerks' exposure to AI as high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (-7.6% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-shipping-clerks"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Shipping Clerks? (2026)

**Short answer:** The job is exposed and shrinking. BLS rates the exposure as high and projects employment to fall, so expect fewer roles and more AI in the ones that remain.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places shipping clerks in its high AI exposure category, above the middle of the pack: a substantial share of the work overlaps with what AI can do. BLS projects employment to fall by 7.6% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 61,300 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | High | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 44/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | -7.6% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 61,300 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $45,260 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High (this job) | 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

- Face-to-face discussions: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Performing general physical activities: 3.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Handling and moving objects: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Dealing with the public: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Repeating the same tasks: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Documenting/recording information: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Email: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Getting information: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Examine shipment contents and compare with records, such as manifests, invoices, or orders, to verify accuracy.
- Confer or correspond with establishment representatives to rectify problems, such as damages, shortages, or nonconformance to specifications.
- Record shipment data, such as weight, charges, space availability, damages, or discrepancies, for reporting, accounting, or recordkeeping purposes.
- Requisition and store shipping materials and supplies to maintain inventory of stock.
- Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials.
- Pack, seal, label, or affix postage to prepare materials for shipping, using hand tools, power tools, or postage meter.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than shipping clerks

- [Laborer and Freight, Stock, and Material Mover, Hand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/laborer-and-freight-stock-and-material-mover-hand): BLS exposure Low, median $40,240; [Will AI replace warehouse workers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-warehouse-workers)
- [Stocker and Order Filler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/stocker-and-order-filler): BLS exposure Moderate, median $37,330; [Will AI replace stockers and order fillers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-stockers-and-order-fillers)
- [Postal Service Mail Carrier](https://nuecareer.com/careers/postal-service-mail-carrier): BLS exposure Moderate, median $60,550; [Will AI replace postal service mail carriers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-postal-service-mail-carriers)
- [Utility Meter Reader](https://nuecareer.com/careers/utility-meter-reader): BLS exposure Moderate, median $48,150
- [Courier and Messenger](https://nuecareer.com/careers/courier-and-messenger): BLS exposure Moderate, median $39,200
- [Mail Clerk and Mail Machine Operator, Except Postal Service](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mail-clerk-and-mail-machine-operator): BLS exposure Moderate, median $39,280

## FAQ

**Will AI replace shipping clerks?**

The job is exposed and shrinking. BLS rates the exposure as high and projects employment to fall, so expect fewer roles and more AI in the ones that remain. 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 fall by 7.6% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 61,300 openings a year.

**How exposed are shipping clerks to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Shipping Clerks are in the high category, alongside 189 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 a shipping, receiving, and inventory clerk's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are repeating the same tasks, documenting/recording information and email. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, performing general physical activities and handling and moving objects. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a shipping, receiving, and inventory clerk a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, shipping clerks score 44 out of 100, higher than 49% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $45,260 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 shipping clerks are less exposed to AI?**

Laborer and Freight, Stock, and Material Mover, Hand (low exposure, $40,240 median), Stocker and Order Filler (moderate exposure, $37,330 median), Postal Service Mail Carrier (moderate exposure, $60,550 median), Utility Meter Reader (moderate exposure, $48,150 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than shipping clerks, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/shipping-receiving-and-inventory-clerk.

---

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