Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 53-7121 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$58,864
$28.30/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The national median salary for Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders is $58,864 per year ($28.30/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $46,301 and $70,075 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $83,158 per year. There are approximately 10,700 tank car, truck, and ship loaders employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Load and unload chemicals and bulk solids, such as coal, sand, and grain, into or from tank cars, trucks, or ships, using material moving equipment. May perform a variety of other tasks relating to shipment of products. May gauge or sample shipping tanks and test them for leaks.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+4.3%
Faster than average
Annual openings
1K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
12K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
4% from new growth96% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Support Activities for Rail Transportation
NAICS 488200
2K
$61,360
Support Activities for Water Transportation
NAICS 488300
2K
$61,280
Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers
NAICS 424500
760
$44,390
Warehousing and Storage
NAICS 493100
660
$62,400
Inland Water Transportation
NAICS 483200
550
$68,010
Wage range across top 5 industries: $44,390 to $68,010 (53% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$18.97
$39,458
P25
$22.26
$46,301
P50MEDIAN
$28.30
$58,864
P75
$33.69
$70,075
P90
$39.98
$83,158
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · other sector
Active
Openings Rate
3.4%
Quits Rate
2.0%
The labor market rebounded in March: hires jumped to 5.6M (+655K) and separations rose to 5.4M (+356K), both more than offsetting February's drop. Job openings held at 6.9M. Quits ticked to 2.0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average tank car, truck, and ship loaders salary?
The national median salary for Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders is $58,864 per year ($28.30/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $46,301 and $70,075 annually.
How much do top-earning tank car, truck, and ship loaders make?
The 90th percentile salary for Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders is $83,158 per year ($39.98/hr). The 75th percentile is $70,075 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for tank car, truck, and ship loaders?
Entry-level Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders (10th percentile) earn approximately $39,458 per year ($18.97/hr). The 25th percentile is $46,301 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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