- MHM 2007 Salary Survey (Introduction): A Fair Day's Pay for a Fair Day's Work
- MHM 2007 Salary Survey (Verbatim Respondent Comments): Penny for Your Thoughts
- MHM 2007 Salary Survey: Pay Comparisons By Job Title, Industry, Age, Experience, Etc. (Tables)
Why Focus on Medians
When it comes to knowing what fair levels of compensation are, medians are a better indication of central tendency than the arithmetic mean, or average. With an abnormal distribution-the pay data of material handling and inventory managers that we collected has a long tail at the upper end of the scale-the mean will be skewed in one direction. Because of this upwardly skewed distribution, the median pay level-the central data point-is a better representation of typical pay levels in the industry or region than the mean.
Use the range between the upper and lower quartiles in the tables in this article for a better understanding of the standard pay range by age, job title, experience and company size. If you think that you're a top performer-and can back up your claims with hard examples of recent achievements-the 90th percentile might be a good target the next time that salary negotiations roll around.
Current job title/function
Total Respondents, % | |
Corporate Management (CEO/COO/Pres/CFO) | 5.1 |
Senior/Exec VP | 6.0 |
Operations Manager | 12.9 |
Plant/Manufacturing Manager | 6.0 |
DC/Warehouse/Facility Manager | 17.5 |
Transportation/Fleet/Traffic Manager | 7.7 |
Supply Chain Manager | 4.1 |
Procurement/Purchasing Manager | 5.5 |
Inventory/Materials Manager | 7.4 |
Information Technology Manager | 1.1 |
Consultant | 2.2 |
Other | 24.6 |
*North American responses only; total=1,386
Industry
Total Respondents, % | |
Aerospace | 1.4 |
Apparel | 1.9 |
Automotive | 4.4 |
Chemicals/Petroleum | 3.0 |
Computer Equipment & Peripherals | 1.2 |
Consumer Goods | 4.7 |
Construction/Building Materials | 3.8 |
Electronics/High-Tech/Telecom Equipment | 4.3 |
Food & Beverage | 8.0 |
Furniture | 0.7 |
Government | 1.3 |
Industrial Products/Machinery/Metals/Plastics | 18.0 |
Pharamaceuticals/Healthcare | 4.9 |
Paper/Printing/Publishing | 4.9 |
Retail | 4.8 |
Third-Party Logistics Provider | 3.8 |
Transportation Services | 3.6 |
Utilities/Energy | 0.7 |
Wholesale Distribution | 10.5 |
Other | 14.1 |
*North American responses only; total=1,386
Sex
Total Respondents, % | |
Male | 89.7 |
Female | 10.3 |
*North American responses only; total=1,386
Age
Years | |
Minimum | 23 |
Maximum | 77 |
Mean | 47 |
25th Percentile | 41 |
Median | 47 |
75th Percentile | 54 |
90th Percentile | 59 |
*North American responses only; total=1,328.
Age
Total Respondents, % | |
20-30 years | 3.4 |
31-40 years | 20.3 |
41-50 years | 39.0 |
51-60 years | 30.8 |
61 years or more | 6.5 |
*North American responses only; total=1,313.
Experience
Years | |
Minimum | 1 |
Maximum | 50 |
Mean | 19 |
25th Percentile | 10 |
Median | 20 |
75th Percentile | 26 |
90th Percentile | 33 |
*North American responses only; total=1,377
Experience
Total Respondents, % | |
0-5 years | 8.4 |
6-10 years | 16.6 |
11-15 years | 15.9 |
16-20 years | 18.2 |
21-25 years | 14.4 |
26 or more years | 26.5 |
*North American responses only; total=1,377
Seniority
Years | |
Minimum | 0 |
Maximum | 50 |
Mean | 13 |
25th Percentile | 6 |
Median | 11 |
75th Percentile | 20 |
90th Percentile | 29 |
*North American responses only; total=1,377
Seniority
Total Respondents, % | |
0-5 years | 22.9 |
6-10 years | 26.8 |
11-15 years | 16.6 |
16-20 years | 12.0 |
21-25 years | 7.8 |
26 or more years | 14.0 |
*North American responses only; total=1,377
Highest level of education
Total Respondents, % | |
High school | 14.3 |
Some college | 36.8 |
4-year undergraduate degree | 30.1 |
Some graduate study | 7.3 |
Graduate degree | 11.5 |
*North American responses only; total=1,375
Most recent promotion
Total Respondents, % | |
Within the past 12 months | 17.3 |
Within the past 1-2 years | 18.5 |
Within the past 3-5 years | 26.0 |
More than 5 years ago | 38.3 |
*North American responses only; total=1,362
Geographic region
Total Respondents, % | |
New England | 6.2 |
Middle Atlantic | 11.9 |
South Atlantic | 15.6 |
North Central | 33.8 |
South Central | 14.2 |
Mountain | 3.8 |
Pacific | 11.0 |
Canada | 3.2 |
Mexico | 0.3 |
*North American responses only; total=1,386
Annual direct compensation
Minimum | $20,000 |
Maximum | $550,000 |
Mean | $77,996 |
25th Percentile | $51,000 |
Median | $69,250 |
75th Percentile | $91,499 |
90th Percentile | $120,000 |
*North American responses only; total=1,386
Annual direct compensation
Total Respondents, % | |
$40,000 or less | 9.3 |
$40,001-$60,000 | 29.9 |
$60,001-$80,000 | 26.5 |
$80,001-$100,000 | 16.9 |
$100,001-$120,000 | 7.9 |
More than $120,000 | 9.6 |
*North American responses only; total=1,386
Receive a bonus?
Total Respondents, % | |
Yes | 63.3 |
No | 36.7 |
*North American responses only; total=1,386
Most recent bonus (for those who received a bonus)
Minimum | $100 |
Maximum | $850,000 |
Mean | $17,157 |
25th Percentile | $2,500 |
Median | $7,000 |
75th Percentile | $15,000 |
90th Percentile | $34,500 |
*North American responses only; total=864
Most recent bonus (for those who received a bonus)
Total Respondents, % | |
$1,000 or less | 11.1 |
$1,001 to $5,000 | 30.9 |
$5,001 to $10,000 | 23.5 |
$10,001 to $25,000 | 21.0 |
More than $25,000 | 13.4 |
*North American responses only; total=863.
Most recent bonus
% of direct compensation | |
Minimum | 0% |
Maximum | 500% |
Mean | 17% |
25th Percentile | 4% |
Median | 9% |
75th Percentile | 18% |
90th Percentile | 33% |
*North American responses only; total=863.
Raise last year
Total Respondents, % | |
No Raise | 20.9 |
0-3% Increase | 45.8 |
4-6% Increase | 25.4 |
7-10% Increase | 5.2 |
Greater than 10% Increase | 2.8 |
*North American responses only; total=1,378
Corporate annual revenue
Total Respondents, % | |
Less than $50 million | 35.9 |
$50 million-$100 million | 17.4 |
$101 million-$500 million | 18.5 |
$501 million-$1 billion | 7.9 |
$1 billion or more | 20.3 |
*North American responses only; total=1,359
Full-time people managed directly
Total Respondents, % | |
0 | 13.9 |
1 to 5 | 27.7 |
6 to 10 | 19.3 |
11 to 25 | 18.2 |
More than 25 | 20.9 |
*North American responses only; total=1,370
Career priorities
% | |
Base salary | 77.5% |
Medical benefits | 62.6% |
Job stability | 60.0% |
Retirement benefits | 51.7% |
Individual recognition | 39.5% |
Advancement opportunities | 36.4% |
Vacation time | 33.7% |
Relationships with co-workers | 27.3% |
Flexible schedule | 23.7% |
Company recognition of the importance of material handling and inventory mgmt. | 15.5% |
Continuing education/training | 13.1% |
*North American responses only; percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents could identify up to five key priorities; total=1,386
Career satisfaction
Total Respondents, % | |
Very satisfied | 21.7% |
Satisfied | 47.2% |
Neither satisfied nor unsatisfied | 23.4% |
Unsatisfied | 6.3% |
Very unsatisfied | 1.3% |
*North American responses only; total=1,342