Managers in transport and distribution Pay Data UK — 2025

Managers in transport and distribution roles in the UK earn a median of £49,000 per year, equivalent to £22.87 per hour as of 2025. Pay increased 9.9% compared to the previous year. Regionally, pay ranges from £41,500 in South West to £55,500 in London. Pay has risen over the past 4 years. The ONS national median for this occupation is £47,504/yr (3% above our computed national average).

Labour Market

Employment figures from ONS Annual Population Survey (APS). Counts are estimates; suppressed cells (small samples) are excluded from totals.

Pay by Region

Annual pay for Managers in transport and distribution across UK regions. The bar shows the typical pay range (25th–75th percentile); the diamond marks the median.

Source: ONS ASHE. Based on broad UK regions (NUTS1).

How Pay Has Changed Over Time

Annual pay grew by +9.9% from 2024 to 2025.

National average (NUTS1 actuals) based on ONS ASHE April snapshot. Shaded band shows 25th–75th percentile range.

Year-on-Year Pay Change

Annual percentage change in median pay for Managers in transport and distribution.

Percentage change from the prior year's April figure.

About Managers in transport and distribution

Managers in transport and distribution plan, organise, and co-ordinate the activities and resources necessary for the safe, efficient and economic movement of passengers and freight by road, rail, sea and air transport.

Typical Tasks and Duties

• plans the optimum utilisation of staff and operating equipment, and co-ordinates maintenance activities to ensure least possible disruption to services
• co-ordinates the transportation of passengers, the movement, handling and storage of freight in transit, and reviews space utilisation, staffing and distribution expenditure to determine future distribution policies
• ensures that regulations regarding hours of work, the licensing of crews and transport equipment, the operational safety and efficiency of equipment, the insurance of vehicles and other statutory regulations are complied with
• ensures that harbour channels and berths are maintained and liaises with ship owners, crew, customs officials, dock and harbour staff to arrange entry, berthing and servicing of ships
• supervises day-to-day activities in a railway station
• arranges for maintenance of airport runways and buildings, liaises with fuel and catering crews to ensure adequate supplies and resolves any complaints and problems raised by airport users

Entry Routes and Qualifications

Candidates are recruited with a variety of academic qualifications and/or with relevant experience. Entrants to management trainee schemes offered by larger companies will require GCSEs/S grades, A levels/H grades, a degree or other equivalent qualifications. Off and on-the-job training is provided. Professional qualifications are available and may be required for some roles. NVQs/SVQs in a number of relevant areas including supply chain and operations management are available at levels 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Related Occupations

Salary data is sourced from official UK pay datasets and updated periodically.