Transportation Inspectors
Inspect equipment or goods in connection with the safe transport of cargo or people. Includes rail transportation inspectors, such as freight inspectors, rail inspectors, and other inspectors of transportation vehicles not elsewhere classified.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Transportation Inspectors. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $40,330 | $19.39 |
| 25th | $58,780 | $28.26 |
| 50th · Median | $92,100 | $44.28 |
| 75th | $108,890 | $52.35 |
| 90th | $138,670 | $66.67 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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Compare an entered wage with the published thresholds for United States. Your entry stays on this page.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (32)
Typical tasks
- Prepare and submit reports after completion of freight shipments.
- Inspect shipments to ensure that freight is securely braced and blocked.
- Record details about freight conditions, handling of freight, and any problems encountered.
- Advise crews in techniques of stowing dangerous and heavy cargo.
- Observe loading of freight to ensure that crews comply with procedures.
- Recommend remedial procedures to correct any violations found during inspections.
Expand more tasks (11)
- Inspect loaded cargo, cargo lashed to decks or in storage facilities, and cargo handling devices to determine compliance with health and safety regulations and need for maintenance.
- Notify workers of any special treatment required for shipments.
- Direct crews to reload freight or to insert additional bracing or packing as necessary.
- Check temperatures and humidities of shipping and storage areas to ensure that they are at appropriate levels to protect cargo.
- Determine cargo transportation capabilities by reading documents that set forth cargo loading and securing procedures, capacities, and stability factors.
- Read draft markings to determine depths of vessels in water.
- Post warning signs on vehicles containing explosives or flammable or radioactive materials.
- Measure heights and widths of loads to ensure they will pass over bridges or through tunnels on scheduled routes.
- Calculate gross and net tonnage, hold capacities, volumes of stored fuel and water, cargo weights, and vessel stability factors, using mathematical formulas.
- Measure vessels' holds and depths of fuel and water in tanks, using sounding lines and tape measures.
- Visually inspect cargo for damage upon arrival or discharge.
Skills used in this work
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- 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.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Expand more skills (29)
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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