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Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate transportation, storage, or distribution activities in accordance with organizational policies and applicable government laws or regulations. Includes logistics managers.
Also Known As:
Distribution Center Manager
Distribution Manager
Fleet Manager
Global Transportation Manager
Logistics Director
Logistics Operations Manager
Shipping Manager
Supply Chain Logistics Manager
Transportation Manager
Warehouse Supervisor
Wages
Annual wages for Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
230,800
9% Change From 2023
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Analyze all aspects of corporate logistics to determine the most cost-effective or efficient means of transporting products or supplies.
- Analyze expenditures and other financial information to develop plans, policies, or budgets for increasing profits or improving services.
- Inspect physical conditions of warehouses, vehicle fleets, or equipment and order testing, maintenance, repairs, or replacements.
- Interview, select, and train warehouse and supervisory personnel.
- Plan or implement energy saving changes to transportation services, such as reducing routes, optimizing capacities, employing alternate modes of transportation, or minimizing idling.
- Analyze the financial impact of proposed logistics changes, such as routing, shipping modes, product volumes or mixes, or carriers.
- Plan, organize, or manage the work of subordinate staff to ensure that the work is accomplished in a manner consistent with organizational requirements.
- Monitor operations to ensure that staff members comply with administrative policies and procedures, safety rules, union contracts, environmental policies, or government regulations.
- Monitor product import or export processes to ensure compliance with regulatory or legal requirements.
- Negotiate with carriers, warehouse operators, or insurance company representatives for services and preferential rates.
- Analyze all aspects of corporate logistics to determine the most cost-effective or efficient means of transporting products or supplies.
- Develop and document standard and emergency operating procedures for receiving, handling, storing, shipping, or salvaging products or materials.
- Plan or implement energy saving changes to transportation services, such as reducing routes, optimizing capacities, employing alternate modes of transportation, or minimizing idling.
- Develop or implement plans for facility modification or expansion, such as equipment purchase or changes in space allocation or structural design.
- Analyze expenditures and other financial information to develop plans, policies, or budgets for increasing profits or improving services.
- Monitor inventory levels of products or materials in warehouses.
- Advise sales and billing departments of transportation charges for customers' accounts.
- Interview, select, and train warehouse and supervisory personnel.
- Resolve problems concerning transportation, logistics systems, imports or exports, or customer issues.
- Confer with department heads to coordinate warehouse activities, such as production, sales, records control, or purchasing.
- Examine invoices and shipping manifests for conformity to tariff and customs regulations.
- Establish or monitor specific supply chain-based performance measurement systems.
- Prepare management recommendations, such as proposed fee and tariff increases or schedule changes.
- 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.
- Develop and document standard and emergency operating procedures for receiving, handling, storing, shipping, or salvaging 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.
- Develop or implement plans for facility modification or expansion, such as equipment purchase or changes in space allocation or structural design.
- Maintain metrics, reports, process documentation, customer service logs, or training or safety records.
- Prepare and manage departmental budgets.
- 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.
- Collaborate with other departments to integrate logistics with business systems or processes, such as customer sales, order management, accounting, or shipping.
- Interview, select, and train warehouse and supervisory personnel.
- Implement specific customer requirements, such as internal reporting or customized transportation metrics.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")