Transportation and material moving
Industrial truck and tractor operators
Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location.
Median pay
$46,420
Growth to 2035
+2%
little or no change
Openings a year
64,700
Time to qualify*
1 month
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Industrial truck and tractor operators
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
Calculate your switch to industrial truck and tractor operators
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Industrial truck and tractor operators: 74% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- 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.
- Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas.
- Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles.
- Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas.
- Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery.
Also called: Checker Loader · Fork Lift Technician · Fork Truck Driver · Forklift Driver · Forklift Operator · Lift Truck Operator · Shag Truck Driver · Spotter Driver
Outlook and AI
Industrial truck and tractor operators held 765,200 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 776,300 by 2035 (+2%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Industrial truck and tractor operators vs. Hoist and winch operators
- Industrial truck and tractor operators vs. Crane and tower operators
- Industrial truck and tractor operators vs. Tank car, truck, and ship loaders
- Industrial truck and tractor operators vs. Loading and moving machine operators, underground mining
- Industrial truck and tractor operators vs. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
- Industrial truck and tractor operators vs. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
- Industrial truck and tractor operators vs. Pile driver operator
- Industrial truck and tractor operators vs. Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining
- Industrial truck and tractor operators vs. Rigger
- Industrial truck and tractor operators vs. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines