Are transport and logistics salaries failing to keep up with other professions?
New figures from the government’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal transport, logistics and storage industry managers’ salaries are slipping behind those of many comparable professions. The figures also show that, since 2017, the salaries of logistics professionals have risen comparatively slowly compared to those of doctors. This is despite the fact that resident doctors took strike action this week over the alleged decline in their ‘real term’ wages.
The new ONS dataset looks at online job advertisement asking salaries in the UK from January 2017 to May 2025. It reveals that many logistics and supply chain professionals’ salaries have fallen behind comparable sectors in recent years, says the home delivery expert Parcelhero.
Parcelhero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks, a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, says: ‘Traditionally, transport, logistics and storage managers’ salaries have been quite competitive compared to similar professions such as manufacturing and purchasing. However, the latest ONS data on quoted salaries in online job adverts from January 2017 to May 2025 shows that they are now slipping behind similar professions.
‘Today, a manager in transport and distribution earns an average of £42,900, based on a mean of advertised salaries. Similarly, managers in storage and warehousing earn an average of £35,400 and managers in logistics around £48,100, based on a mean of advertised salaries.
‘Directors in logistics, warehousing and transport roles earn an average of £63,300. Looking at non-managerial jobs within the industry, HGV drivers earn an average of £37,600 and couriers and delivery drivers £32,300.
‘In isolation, those salaries sound reasonably competitive, but how do they actually measure up compared to similar professions? Well, the mean average advertised salary for a production manager working in manufacturing is £52,000 and the average salary for a purchasing manager is £61,300. So, compared to these roles, logistics professionals’ salaries look to be some way behind. However, before transport managers start joining doctors on the picket lines, it’s worth noting that their counterparts in retail and wholesale earn an average of just £35,500, according to mean advertised salaries.
‘Looking further afield, just to give a feel for overall professional salaries, solicitors and lawyers’ advertised salaries currently average £60,000.
‘So how have logistics managers’ salaries kept up over time? The answer seems to be not as well as some other comparable professions. Back in January 2017, when the online salaries dataset was first published, the average salary for a manager in transport and distribution was £38,600, compared to £42,900 today. That’s a rise of around 11%. Similarly, a storage and warehousing manager’s salary was £32,000 compared to £36,400 today, and a logistics manager earned an average of £46,400 compared to £48,100 today.
‘Concerningly, the average salary for a director working in logistics, warehousing and transport has actually fallen, from £64,200 back in January 2017 to £63,300 today. This highlights the wafer-thin margins many transport companies are currently working to. At a non-managerial level, wage rises seem to have kept a better pace with inflation. HGV drivers earned an average £28,100 in 2017 compared to £37,600 today and couriers and delivery drivers earned £26,700 back in 2017 compared to £32,300 today.
‘Comparing these rises to equivalent professions, a production manager working in manufacturing earned £45,600 in January 2017. That means their £7,000 (14%) rise to £52,000 today outstrips those of equivalent transport and distribution managers. Similarly, purchasing managers earned an average of £53,500 in 2017 and earn £61,300 today. Again, that’s a bigger rise than professionals working in transport, warehousing and logistics.
‘However, the transport profession is still outpacing salaries for managers and directors in retail and wholesale. Back in January 2017, they were earning an average of £35,300, based on mean advertised salaries, which has barely inched up to £35,500 today.
‘Again, looking across a wider range of professions, solicitors and lawyers earned an average £51,000 compared to £60,000 today, a 17% increase. So, again, these rises are higher than equivalent transport and distribution managers’ increases.
‘This week, thousands of resident doctors, formerly junior doctors, were on strike. This begs the question: have doctors’ salaries really slipped dramatically compared to average salaries in the supply chain and logistics profession? While junior doctors’ salaries are not included in the survey, many junior/resident doctors are likely to become General Medical Practitioners. Looking at their average advertised salaries, GP wages rose from £62,900 back in January 2017 to £92,600 today. That 47% increase significantly outstrips transport and distribution professionals’ average 11% wage increase over the same period.
‘Transport and distribution professionals may not be paid the best but they take pride in their ability to react to changing demands and practices. It will be those transport and storage companies that are partnered with retailers with strong, proactive in-store and online strategies that will ultimately survive. Parcelhero’s influential report “2030: Death of the High Street” has been discussed in Parliament. It reveals that retailers must develop an omnichannel approach, embracing both online and physical store sales. Read the full report at: https://www.parcelhero.com/content/downloads/pdfs/high-street/deathofthehighstreetreport.pdf