Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks: Career Profile
Verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory. Duties include verifying and recording incoming merchandise or material and arranging for the transportation of products. May prepare items for shipment.
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What Tasks Do Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks Do?
The core tasks performed by shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks cover:
- Examine shipment contents and compare with records, such as manifests, invoices, or orders, to verify accuracy.
- Requisition and store shipping materials and supplies to maintain inventory of stock.
- Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials.
- Pack, seal, label, or affix postage to prepare materials for shipping, using hand tools, power tools, or postage meter.
- Record shipment data, such as weight, charges, space availability, damages, or discrepancies, for reporting, accounting, or recordkeeping purposes.
- Confer or correspond with establishment representatives to rectify problems, such as damages, shortages, or nonconformance to specifications.
- Deliver or route materials to departments using handtruck, conveyor, or sorting bins.
- Contact carrier representatives to make arrangements or to issue instructions for shipping and delivery of materials.
Skills and Knowledge
Successful shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
These are the skills most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Types of Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks Jobs
People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:
- Backroom Associate
- Booking Clerk
- Break Out Man
- Break Out Worker
- Car Checker
- Cloth Booker
- Container Coordinator
- Disposition Clerk
Employment and Demand
There are roughly 501,166 shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +2.5% over the projection horizon.
Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $59,964 |
| Hourly median | $28.83 |
| 10th percentile | $37,788 |
| 25th percentile | $48,876 |
| 75th percentile | $71,052 |
| 90th percentile | $82,140 |
Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Washington | $49,290 |
| Alaska | $48,550 |
| District of Columbia | $47,980 |
| Massachusetts | $47,410 |
| Vermont | $47,120 |
| Iowa | $46,830 |
| Minnesota | $46,830 |
| New Hampshire | $46,420 |
| Wisconsin | $45,930 |
| Maine | $45,880 |
| Indiana | $45,870 |
| New York | $45,850 |
| Oregon | $45,780 |
| Maryland | $45,740 |
| Colorado | $45,670 |
| Hawaii | $45,420 |
| Illinois | $45,400 |
| North Dakota | $45,200 |
| Pennsylvania | $44,990 |
| Connecticut | $44,770 |
| New Jersey | $44,480 |
| California | $44,120 |
| Michigan | $43,870 |
| Rhode Island | $42,950 |
| Ohio | $42,770 |
| Arizona | $42,740 |
| Idaho | $42,300 |
| Kansas | $42,150 |
| South Dakota | $42,110 |
| Virginia | $42,080 |
| Wyoming | $41,600 |
| Nebraska | $41,430 |
| Montana | $41,150 |
| Missouri | $40,910 |
| Georgia | $40,670 |
| Nevada | $40,550 |
| South Carolina | $40,510 |
| Delaware | $40,440 |
| Tennessee | $40,400 |
| West Virginia | $40,050 |
| Arkansas | $39,940 |
| Kentucky | $39,840 |
| North Carolina | $39,530 |
| Oklahoma | $39,520 |
| Alabama | $39,050 |
| Florida | $38,830 |
| Texas | $38,740 |
| Utah | $38,110 |
| Mississippi | $37,830 |
| Louisiana | $37,770 |
| New Mexico | $37,240 |
| Virgin Islands | $35,050 |
| Guam | $28,210 |
| Puerto Rico | $21,940 |
Pay by U.S. Region
Compensation for shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks vary by region. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England | $46,241 | 4.0% | 0.86 |
| Middle Atlantic | $45,131 | 12.7% | 0.90 |
| Far Western US | $44,656 | 18.0% | 1.09 |
| Great Lakes | $44,595 | 16.4% | 1.19 |
| Plains States | $43,789 | 6.2% | 0.91 |
| Rocky Mountains | $41,923 | 4.3% | 1.19 |
| Southeast | $39,812 | 23.8% | 1.00 |
| Southwest | $39,336 | 13.9% | 1.12 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $52,000 | 12,450 |
| Longview-Kelso, WA | WA | $51,290 | 280 |
| Napa, CA | CA | $50,960 | 400 |
| Fairbanks-College, AK | AK | $50,260 | 90 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | WA | $49,890 | 290 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $49,660 | 4,540 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $49,000 | 9,410 |
| Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $48,570 | 370 |
Industry Breakdown
The largest employers of shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks are found across these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 231,730 | $45,870 |
| Retail Trade | 185,670 | $37,590 |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 137,140 | $45,050 |
| Wholesale Trade | 135,030 | $43,720 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 52,100 | $38,080 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 23,480 | $44,240 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 18,660 | $46,360 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 10,110 | $46,430 |
Below are examples of industries where shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks work:
Software Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks Use
- Internet browser software: Apple Safari (hot technology)
- Internet browser software: Microsoft Edge (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
- Internet browser software: Mozilla Firefox (hot technology)
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software: SAP software (hot technology)
- Inventory management software: Inventory management systems (in demand)
- Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software: Warehouse management system WMS (in demand)
Work Environment
Daily working conditions for shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks reflects the following characteristics:
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Time Pressure
- Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled
- Contact With Others
Getting Started in This Career
Entry-level shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (Supplemental)
- Logistics Analysts (Supplemental)
- Procurement Clerks (Supplemental)
- Order Clerks (Primary-Long)
- Cargo and Freight Agents (Primary-Short)
- Freight Forwarders (Primary-Long)
- Couriers and Messengers (Supplemental)
- Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance (Supplemental)
References
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 43-5071.00 (Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks).
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