Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors
Also called: Cargo Supervisor, Line Service Supervisor (LSS), Loadmaster, Ramp SupervisorSupervise and coordinate the activities of ground crew in the loading, unloading, securing, and staging of aircraft cargo or baggage. May determine the quantity and orientation of cargo and compute aircraft center of gravity. May accompany aircraft as member of flight crew and monitor and handle cargo in flight, and assist and brief passengers on safety and emergency procedures. Includes loadmasters.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 6 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 9.2% by 2035. 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, 2.1% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Supervisors of transportation and material moving workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 9.0 hires for every 10 job openings in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, which employs about 98% 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.9.0 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 | $59,460 | $55,800 to $71,360 | not published |
| Alaska | $58,230 | $52,580 to $92,750 | 130 |
| Arizona | $74,780 | $56,490 to $79,610 | 220 |
| Arkansas | $73,520 | $63,850 to $80,420 | 40 |
| California | $60,530 | $52,530 to $79,220 | 1,490 |
| Colorado | $79,260 | $73,130 to $84,690 | 190 |
| Connecticut | $78,770 | $47,570 to $89,700 | 50 |
| Florida | $62,240 | $48,490 to $79,520 | 740 |
| Georgia | $81,380 | $71,570 to $99,830 | 150 |
| Hawaii | $59,120 | $47,990 to $68,940 | 180 |
| Idaho | $56,530 | $52,870 to $79,340 | 120 |
| Illinois | $58,600 | $51,760 to $74,580 | 530 |
| Indiana | $75,880 | $59,890 to $87,090 | 60 |
| Iowa | $55,030 | $47,270 to $57,010 | not published |
| Kentucky | $52,530 | $33,170 to $57,700 | 1,010 |
| Louisiana | $79,460 | $36,510 to $79,460 | 40 |
| Maryland | not published | not published | 130 |
| Massachusetts | $52,470 | $50,950 to $74,260 | 140 |
| Michigan | $47,850 | $44,190 to $81,500 | 90 |
| Minnesota | $53,100 | $52,950 to $58,220 | 170 |
| Missouri | $76,450 | $73,130 to $79,760 | 100 |
| Nebraska | not published | not published | 150 |
| Nevada | $70,740 | $53,820 to $77,810 | 170 |
| New Hampshire | $52,360 | $46,600 to $79,040 | 30 |
| New Jersey | $65,590 | $52,920 to $78,950 | 60 |
| New Mexico | $72,760 | $47,330 to $79,670 | 50 |
| New York | $57,290 | $47,550 to $85,550 | 250 |
| North Carolina | $59,130 | $56,510 to $76,170 | 90 |
| Ohio | $79,650 | $48,470 to $85,850 | 100 |
| Oklahoma | $41,600 | $38,480 to $60,150 | 70 |
| Oregon | $61,340 | $55,570 to $81,500 | 110 |
| Pennsylvania | $75,620 | $51,490 to $80,820 | 450 |
| Puerto Rico | $51,150 | $49,870 to $77,610 | 100 |
| South Carolina | $61,470 | $31,220 to $76,240 | 140 |
| Tennessee | $53,560 | $45,940 to $77,350 | 260 |
| Texas | $56,290 | $48,760 to $78,730 | 1,410 |
| Utah | $57,570 | $55,120 to $78,300 | 80 |
| Virginia | $78,420 | $50,000 to $91,740 | 240 |
| Washington | $61,090 | $54,200 to $61,100 | 150 |
Nationally: $58,170. 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 none of its 6 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Train new employees in areas such as safety procedures or equipment operation. | Not published |
| Not much | Direct ground crews in the loading, unloading, securing, or staging of aircraft cargo or baggage. | Not published |
| Not much | Distribute cargo to maximize use of space. | Not published |
| Not much | Determine the quantity and orientation of cargo, and compute an aircraft's center of gravity. | Not published |
| Not much | Calculate load weights for different aircraft compartments, using charts and computers. | Not published |
| Not much | Accompany aircraft as a member of the flight crew to monitor and handle cargo in flight. | 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. 0 of the 6 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 6 tasks fall under 5 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.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Inspect facilities or equipment | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Train others on operational or work procedures | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing |
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 aircraft cargo handling supervisors 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 1,454 moves out
- 1 Human Resources Managers High +5.5% 10%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 10%
- 3 Photographers High -0.7% 6%
- 4 Carpenters Low +3.9% 5%
- 5 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 5%
Where people moved in from
of 916 moves in
- 1 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 7%
- 2 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 7%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 7%
- 4 Carpenters Low +3.9% 4%
- 5 Human Resources Managers High +5.5% 4%
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
- 10% less than high school
- 64% high school
- 3% postsecondary certificate
- 5% some college
- 18% bachelor's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 20 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 8% less than high school
- 39% high school
- 26% some college
- 9% associate's
- 15% bachelor's
- 3% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Supervisors of transportation and material moving workers” · 2,715 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 the Census group “Supervisors of transportation and material moving workers”
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
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
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
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
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