Will AI replace Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
19/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 33% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 34% of the work
What the job involves
Drive a tractor-trailer combination or a truck with a capacity of at least 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). May be required to unload truck. Requires commercial drivers' license. Includes tow truck drivers.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(8)
- Report vehicle defects, accidents, traffic violations, or damage to the vehicles.
- Maintain logs of working hours or of vehicle service or repair status, following applicable state and federal regulations.
- Check all load-related documentation for completeness and accuracy.
- Inspect loads to ensure that cargo is secure.
- Collect delivery instructions from appropriate sources, verifying instructions and routes.
and 3 more
Out of reach(21)
- Check vehicles to ensure that mechanical, safety, and emergency equipment is in good working order.
- Perform basic vehicle maintenance tasks, such as adding oil, fuel, or radiator fluid, performing minor repairs, or washing trucks.
- Maneuver trucks into loading or unloading positions, following signals from loading crew and checking that vehicle and loading equipment are properly positioned.
- Drive trucks with capacities greater than 13 tons, including tractor-trailer combinations, to transport and deliver products, livestock, or other materials.
- Crank trailer landing gear up or down to safely secure vehicles.
and 16 more
Also called
Driver · Truck Driver · Tank Truck Driver · CDL Driver (Commercial Driver's License Driver) · Over the Road Driver (OTR Driver) · Semi Truck Driver · Tractor Trailer Driver · CDL Driver
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics