Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers
Business, Management and AdministrationO*NET 11-3071.00United States
Plan, direct, or coordinate transportation, storage, or distribution activities in accordance with organizational policies and applicable government laws or regulations. Includes logistics managers.
- Median annual earnings
- $105,767
- Projected change
- +9.2%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 236.56K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
40.8% of the workforce
Growing to 258.31K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What transportation, storage, and distribution managers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Supervise the activities of workers engaged in receiving, storing, testing, and shipping products or materials.
- Plan, develop, or implement warehouse safety and security programs and activities.
- Inspect physical conditions of warehouses, vehicle fleets, or equipment and order testing, maintenance, repairs, or replacements.
- Plan, organize, or manage the work of subordinate staff to ensure that the work is accomplished in a manner consistent with organizational requirements.
- Collaborate with other departments to integrate logistics with business systems or processes, such as customer sales, order management, accounting, or shipping.
- Analyze all aspects of corporate logistics to determine the most cost-effective or efficient means of transporting products or supplies.
- Resolve problems concerning transportation, logistics systems, imports or exports, or customer issues.
- Develop and document standard and emergency operating procedures for receiving, handling, storing, shipping, or salvaging products or materials.
- Monitor operations to ensure that staff members comply with administrative policies and procedures, safety rules, union contracts, environmental policies, or government regulations.
- Analyze the financial impact of proposed logistics changes, such as routing, shipping modes, product volumes or mixes, or carriers.
- Monitor inventory levels of products or materials in warehouses.
- Establish or monitor specific supply chain-based performance measurement systems.
- Prepare and manage departmental budgets.
- Monitor product import or export processes to ensure compliance with regulatory or legal requirements.
- Prepare management recommendations, such as proposed fee and tariff increases or schedule changes.
- Interview, select, and train warehouse and supervisory personnel.
- Advise sales and billing departments of transportation charges for customers' accounts.
- Analyze expenditures and other financial information to develop plans, policies, or budgets for increasing profits or improving services.
- Confer with department heads to coordinate warehouse activities, such as production, sales, records control, or purchasing.
- Implement specific customer requirements, such as internal reporting or customized transportation metrics.
- Maintain metrics, reports, process documentation, customer service logs, or training or safety records.
- Examine invoices and shipping manifests for conformity to tariff and customs regulations.
- Plan or implement energy saving changes to transportation services, such as reducing routes, optimizing capacities, employing alternate modes of transportation, or minimizing idling.
- Evaluate contractors or business partners for operational efficiency or safety or environmental performance records.
- Negotiate with carriers, warehouse operators, or insurance company representatives for services and preferential rates.
- Develop or implement plans for facility modification or expansion, such as equipment purchase or changes in space allocation or structural design.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $64,053
- 25th percentile
- $81,198
- 50th percentile
- $105,767
- 75th percentile
- $145,540
- 90th percentile
- $194,078
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $105,767 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+9.2%faster than average
2025236,559 jobs
2035 projected258,312 jobs
21,753 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 40.8%
- High school diploma or less
- 34.2%
- Associate degree
- 24%
- Some college
- 1.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- 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.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- 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.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Warehouse Managers6,662 postings
- 02Team Supervisors2,034 postings
- 03Transportation Managers1,686 postings
- 04Transportation Coordinators1,636 postings
- 05Fleet Managers1,372 postings
- 06Distribution Managers1,075 postings
- 07Inventory Control Managers1,009 postings
- 08Warehouse Operations Managers983 postings
- 09Area Managers831 postings
- 10Transportation Supervisors825 postings
- 11Assistant Warehouse Managers780 postings
- 12Delivery Managers719 postings
- 13Directors of Transportation634 postings
- 14Distribution Center Managers590 postings
- 15Driver Managers563 postings
- 16Delivery Drivers494 postings
- 17Fulfillment Managers473 postings
- 18Operations Managers472 postings
- 19Route Supervisors453 postings
- 20Traffic Control Supervisors436 postings
Top employers
- 01Walmart2,263 postings
- 02Amazon1,425 postings
- 03US Foods767 postings
- 04Jacobs Solutions469 postings
- 05Cardinal Health466 postings
- 06Accenture375 postings
- 07Ryder286 postings
- 08Sysco280 postings
- 09Tesla279 postings
- 10UniFirst266 postings
- 11HD Supply256 postings
- 12Domino's Pizza251 postings
- 13Starbucks238 postings
- 14Deutsche Post DHL Group236 postings
- 15Ericsson212 postings
- 16Core-Mark International180 postings
- 17Uline180 postings
- 18GPAC174 postings
- 19AutoZone171 postings
- 20The Coca-Cola Company170 postings
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