Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks
Also called: Expeditor, Materials Planner, Production Planner, Production SchedulerCoordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials within or between departments of an establishment according to production schedule. Duties include reviewing and distributing production, work, and shipment schedules; conferring with department supervisors to determine progress of work and completion dates; and compiling reports on progress of work, inventory levels, costs, and production problems.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 15 of its 17 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 1.3% by 2035. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 3.1% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.4 hires for every 10 job openings in durable goods manufacturing, which employs about 21% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.4 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $57,240 | $46,850 to $71,470 | 2,680 |
| Alaska | $62,590 | $52,070 to $74,970 | 380 |
| Arizona | $58,580 | $48,470 to $71,290 | 9,780 |
| Arkansas | $50,350 | $43,940 to $65,740 | 2,390 |
| California | $63,000 | $49,700 to $78,230 | 56,080 |
| Colorado | $63,980 | $53,830 to $78,470 | 7,800 |
| Connecticut | $63,240 | $52,570 to $83,630 | 4,090 |
| Delaware | $62,700 | $48,800 to $77,080 | 450 |
| District of Columbia | $72,660 | $60,990 to $79,090 | 430 |
| Florida | $51,940 | $44,160 to $63,110 | 20,850 |
| Georgia | $56,850 | $47,510 to $66,730 | 16,370 |
| Guam | $53,070 | $36,400 to $59,310 | 190 |
| Hawaii | $63,780 | $50,850 to $82,930 | 1,040 |
| Idaho | $59,950 | $47,730 to $83,390 | 1,070 |
| Illinois | $57,880 | $47,250 to $71,760 | 11,900 |
| Indiana | $58,980 | $47,850 to $73,420 | 9,100 |
| Iowa | $60,320 | $50,290 to $65,760 | 3,540 |
| Kansas | $57,080 | $46,200 to $71,960 | 4,320 |
| Kentucky | $55,690 | $45,090 to $72,950 | 6,480 |
| Louisiana | $60,120 | $47,010 to $76,050 | 1,970 |
| Maine | $60,200 | $37,130 to $77,440 | 1,240 |
| Maryland | $58,590 | $47,930 to $71,840 | 4,670 |
| Massachusetts | $60,280 | $49,140 to $73,330 | 5,650 |
| Michigan | $61,670 | $49,690 to $77,310 | 7,560 |
| Minnesota | $61,490 | $51,380 to $74,960 | 7,330 |
| Mississippi | $51,080 | $41,850 to $69,240 | 2,030 |
| Missouri | $54,170 | $45,470 to $71,170 | 6,310 |
| Montana | $50,800 | $43,070 to $60,990 | 830 |
| Nebraska | $55,710 | $47,110 to $67,220 | 1,690 |
| Nevada | $55,790 | $45,660 to $71,890 | 2,190 |
| New Hampshire | $61,590 | $50,820 to $77,230 | 1,600 |
| New Jersey | $62,710 | $50,050 to $76,360 | 9,410 |
| New Mexico | $49,640 | $41,910 to $66,330 | 1,040 |
| New York | $60,920 | $49,500 to $75,640 | 35,160 |
| North Carolina | $52,640 | $44,670 to $63,810 | 13,000 |
| North Dakota | $58,330 | $50,190 to $73,210 | 450 |
| Ohio | $57,830 | $46,190 to $70,200 | 17,700 |
| Oklahoma | $56,300 | $44,630 to $74,010 | 5,820 |
| Oregon | $60,790 | $50,320 to $69,240 | 2,790 |
| Pennsylvania | $59,240 | $47,430 to $71,870 | 8,790 |
| Puerto Rico | $37,570 | $28,300 to $54,950 | 1,780 |
| Rhode Island | $65,310 | $53,550 to $81,420 | 960 |
| South Carolina | $57,640 | $47,300 to $74,170 | 7,020 |
| South Dakota | $50,530 | $45,200 to $59,020 | 690 |
| Tennessee | $53,020 | $45,980 to $64,420 | 12,740 |
| Texas | $55,850 | $44,340 to $70,720 | 33,080 |
| Utah | $61,650 | $49,900 to $77,630 | 4,550 |
| Vermont | $60,560 | $50,250 to $74,280 | 430 |
| Virginia | $61,780 | $48,980 to $75,590 | 8,490 |
| Washington | $77,190 | $64,150 to $81,850 | not published |
| West Virginia | $56,290 | $48,710 to $75,720 | 750 |
| Wisconsin | $58,540 | $47,820 to $66,110 | 9,140 |
| Wyoming | $69,710 | $51,540 to $76,360 | 110 |
Nationally: $59,650. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 15 of its 17 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI + software | Confer with department supervisors or other personnel to assess progress and discuss needed changes. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Distribute production schedules or work orders to departments. | Not published |
| AI + software | Arrange for delivery, assembly, or distribution of supplies or parts to expedite flow of materials and meet production schedules. | Not published |
| AI alone | Revise production schedules when required due to design changes, labor or material shortages, backlogs, or other interruptions, collaborating with management, marketing, sales, production, or engineering. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Review documents, such as production schedules, work orders, or staffing tables, to determine personnel or materials requirements or material priorities. | Not published |
| AI + software | Requisition and maintain inventories of materials or supplies necessary to meet production demands. | Not published |
See all 17 tasks
| AI + software | Compile information, such as production rates and progress, materials inventories, materials used, or customer information, so that status reports can be completed. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Confer with establishment personnel, vendors, or customers to coordinate production or shipping activities and to resolve complaints or eliminate delays. | Not published |
| AI + software | Plan production commitments or timetables for business units, specific programs, or jobs, using sales forecasts. | Not published |
| AI alone | Examine documents, materials, or products and monitor work processes to assess completeness, accuracy, and conformance to standards and specifications. | 0.14% |
| AI + software | Record production data, including volume produced, consumption of raw materials, or quality control measures. | Not published |
| AI + software | Compile and prepare documentation related to production sequences, transportation, personnel schedules, or purchase, maintenance, or repair orders. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Contact suppliers to verify shipment details. | Not published |
| AI + software | Calculate figures, such as required amounts of labor or materials, manufacturing costs, or wages, using pricing schedules, adding machines, calculators, or computers. | 0.01% |
| AI + software | Maintain files, such as maintenance records, bills of lading, or cost reports. | Not published |
| AI alone | Establish and prepare product construction directions and locations and information on required tools, materials, equipment, numbers of workers needed, and cost projections. | 0.01% |
| AI + software | Provide documentation and information to account for delays, difficulties, or changes to cost estimates. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 7 of the 17 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 17 tasks fall under 11 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- #23 Prepare informational or instructional materials
- #33 Compile records, documentation, or other data
- and 2 more, in the table below
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communicate with others about operational plans or activities | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Compile records, documentation, or other data | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Prepare informational or instructional materials | |||
| Purchase goods or services | |||
| Determine values or prices of goods or services |
Show all 11 activities
| Examine materials or documentation for accuracy or compliance | |||
| Schedule operational activities | |||
| Inspect completed work or finished products |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An analysis or summary32%
- A document or report28%
- Data or a spreadsheet6%
- An explanation or answer5%
- An email or message4%
How they worked with Claude
69% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for production, planning, and expediting clerks specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 131,443 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 8%
- 2 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 4%
- 3 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 3%
- 4 Logisticians Very high +17.6% 3%
- 5 Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Very high +6.1% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 137,021 moves in
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 2 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 5%
- 3 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 3%
- 4 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 2%
- 5 Logisticians Very high +17.6% 2%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 19% less than high school
- 37% high school
- 9% postsecondary certificate
- 21% some college
- 13% associate's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 21 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 4% less than high school
- 22% high school
- 22% some college
- 11% associate's
- 32% bachelor's
- 9% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 2,683 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
1 program: Parts, Warehousing, and Inventory Management Operations.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
18.0% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | <0.5% | 19.1% |
| a certification | <0.5% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 4 registered apprenticeships in this occupation. Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/43-5061.00