Freight Manager

Freight managers will communicate daily with road, rail, air and sea companies. Freight managers also liaise with their clients on the costs of shipments on a regular basis to ensure they are keeping competitive to the market place.

Freight managers will be responsible for a team consisting of clerks, sales team, warehouse staff and drivers.

Salaries for freight managers start at around £24,000 a year.

Freight managers normally work office hours, from Monday to Friday. Freight managers may have to work weekends and compulsory overtime. Some companies, especially the larger freight forwarders, operate shift patterns and out-of-hours work so most freight managers will work additional hours from home. Most freight managers will have to travel during the working day and overnight stays are common in the UK and abroad.

Freight managers need to have a good knowledge of the freight industry, have excellent communication and negotiation skills and most freight managers will have excellent sales skills. Freight managers will be accustomed to working to tight targets and deadlines and will need to have excellent delegation skills to cope with the pressure and speed at which the transport industry moves.

Freight managers work in over 3,000 freight companies in the UK, employing around 50,000 people. These include local national companies throughout the UK and international companies with offices in the UK and overseas.

Competition for freight manager’s jobs is fierce as there are few advertised posts. Opportunities for freight managers tend to be concentrated in transport centres, such as ports, airports and rail terminals.
 
Freight managers can study the Foundation Degree in Logistics and Transport at Coventry University or Anglia Polytechnic University. Other colleges may offer similar courses.
 
For those working in freight managers posts in the UK, BIFA now offers a variety of intensive short courses in the key areas of the work. Further information is available from BIFA.

Jobs of this type currently available

There are currently no jobs of this type available.