Occupation Summary

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators

O*NET 53-7051.00

Description:

Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location.

Annual Wages:
$40,345.00
Employment Rate:
Employment is expected to increase by 20.86%.
Education Level:
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED). According to O*Net, the majority of people employed in this occupation have this level of education.
Endorsement:
Business and Industry

  1. Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas.
  2. 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.
  3. Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas.
  4. Perform routine maintenance on vehicles or auxiliary equipment, such as cleaning, lubricating, recharging batteries, fueling, or replacing liquefied-gas tank.
  5. Weigh materials or products and record weight or other production data on tags or labels.
  6. Operate or tend automatic stacking, loading, packaging, or cutting machines.
  7. Signal workers to discharge, dump, or level materials.
  8. Hook tow trucks to trailer hitches and fasten attachments, such as graders, plows, rollers, or winch cables to tractors, using hitchpins.
  9. Turn valves and open chutes to dump, spray, or release materials from dump cars or storage bins into hoppers.
  10. Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery.
  11. Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles.


National Industry Employment Patterns


Industry % of Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators employed Annual Growth Rate
Employment services 9.1 1.32


Labor Market Information


2022 Statewide average hourly wage $19.40
2022 National average hourly wage $20.79
2020 National employment 631,600
2020 Texas employment 70,421
Texas projected employment by 2030 85,112
Texas projected annual employment and Turnover openings through 2030 9,778




TEXAS COUNTY MAP BY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AREA
* Due to confidentiality rules, not all regions may have the data displayed. The sum of all the regions may not be equal to the state total.


Top 10 Relevant Knowledge Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
60.20%
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
56.40%
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
56.00%
Transportation
Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
55.00%
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
50.60%
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
49.80%
Administrative
Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
46.80%
Public Safety and Security
Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
46.40%
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
45.40%
Mechanical
Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
43.40%


Top 10 Relevant Skill Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
77.60%
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
65.00%
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
60.00%
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
60.00%
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
60.00%
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
60.00%
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
57.60%
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
57.60%
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
55.00%
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
55.00%


Top 10 Relevant Abilities Relevant Importance Levels
Control Precision
The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
80.00%
Multilimb Coordination
The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
77.60%
Far Vision
The ability to see details at a distance.
75.00%
Response Orientation
The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
72.40%
Manual Dexterity
The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
70.00%
Rate Control
The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
67.60%
Reaction Time
The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
65.00%
Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
65.00%
Depth Perception
The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
65.00%
Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
62.40%


  • Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
    -- Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
    -- Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Handling and Moving Objects
    -- Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    -- Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Performing General Physical Activities
    -- Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
Other Activities


  • Relationships
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
  • Support
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.


Tools

Belt conveyors: Belt conveyors;

Bulk transporters: Bulk liquid trucks;

Cargo handling equipment: Straddle carriers; Container reach stackers; Container top handlers; Reach stackers;

Cargo trucks: Top loaders; Hustlers;

Conventional truck cranes: Industrial crane trucks;

Dock plates: Bridgeplates;

Dock ramps: Dockboards;

Dollies: Dollies;

Flatbed trailers: Flatbed trailers;

Forklift or elevator accessories or supplies: Metal dump hopper attachments; Lift beams; Crane attachments; Booms; Scoops; Shovel attachments;

Forklifts: Sliding boom forklifts; Rough terrain forklifts; Straight-mast forklifts; Lift trucks; Extended-reach forklifts; Forklifts; Forktrucks; Cantilever trucks;

Grapples: Fork-grapples;

Hand trucks or accessories: Motorized hand trucks;

Hoists: Overhead hoists;

Industrial shrink wrap equipment: Shrink wrap machines;

Jacks: Jacks;

Lifting hooks: Lifting clamps;

Lifts: Combination vacuum lifts; Counterbalanced front/side loader lift trucks; Reach type outrigger trucks; Rider trucks;

Manlift or personnel lift: High-lift order picker trucks; Reach rider trucks;

Non temperature controlled tanker trailers: Tank trailers;

Pallet trucks: Pallet trucks;

Personal computers: Personal computers;

Platform lift: Personnel and burden carriers; Platform lift trucks;

Snowplow attachments: Snowplows;

Swivel hooks: Swivel hooks;

Telescoping boom lift: Telescopic forklifts;

Thin client computers: On-board computers for sending/receiving instructions;

Wheel chocks: Wheel chocks;

Wrapping machinery: Banding equipment;


Technology

Computer aided design CAD software: Autodesk AutoCAD;

Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook;

Enterprise resource planning ERP software: SAP software;

Inventory management software: Motek Priya; RedPrairie DLx Warehouse; ATMS StockTrack PLUS; Argos Software ABECAS Insight WMS; BarControl Enterprise Manager iBEM; IntelliTrack Warehouse Management System (WMS); Inventory management software; Inventory management systems; Lilly Software Associates VISUAL DCMS;

Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software: SSA Global Supply Chain Management; Symphony GOLD; Warehouse management system WMS;

Office suite software: Microsoft Office software;

Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel;

Word processing software: Microsoft Word;


Related O*NET occupational titles for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators include:
  • 53-7021.00 Crane and Tower Operators
  • 47-5022.00 Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
  • 53-7041.00 Hoist and Winch Operators
  • 53-7062.00 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
  • 47-5044.00 Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining
  • 49-3042.00 Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
  • 47-2073.00 Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
  • 47-2072.00 Pile Driver Operators
  • 49-9096.00 Riggers
  • 53-7121.00 Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders

Contact Texas Workforce Commission
Labor Market and Career Information  |  101 E. 15th Street, Annex Room 0252  |  Austin, Texas 78778
Official Website  |  1-800-822-PLAN (7526)  |  512.936.3200

** The information in this report may be derived from many sources like O*NET, BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), OOH (Occupational Outlook Handbook), and Career One Stop.