Freight loader vs dock worker

The differences between freight loaders and dock workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a dock worker has an average salary of $36,027, which is higher than the $32,777 average annual salary of a freight loader.

The top three skills for a freight loader include pallets, pallet jack and load freight. The most important skills for a dock worker are safety rules, tractor trailer, and LTL.

Freight loader vs dock worker overview

	Freight Loader	Dock Worker
Yearly salary	$32,777	$36,027
Hourly rate	$15.76	$17.32
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	9,112	119,104
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 54%	High School Diploma, 54%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Freight loader vs dock worker salary

Freight loaders and dock workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Freight Loader	Dock Worker
Average salary	$32,777	$36,027
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $40,000	Between $29,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	-	Coon Rapids, MN
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Dairy Farmers of America
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between freight loader and dock worker education

There are a few differences between a freight loader and a dock worker in terms of educational background:

	Freight Loader	Dock Worker
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 54%	High School Diploma, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Freight loader vs dock worker demographics

Here are the differences between freight loaders' and dock workers' demographics:

	Freight Loader	Dock Worker
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%	Male, 92.9% Female, 7.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 22.3% Asian, 5.8% White, 51.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between freight loader and dock worker duties and responsibilities

Freight loader example responsibilities.

Provide regular assistance to supervisors to assist in store profitability and cleanliness.
Unload, process, and properly secure any merchandise needing EAS tags from all incoming freight.

Dock worker example responsibilities.

Operate yard truck to manage dock needs, maintain safety and cleanliness of dock as well as yard.
Work with AS400 WMS to coordinate the movement of freight in and out of the terminal.
Use of the AS400 to process outbound shipments, including but not limit to data entry, and BOL imaging.
Print BOL for daily deliveries.
Use RF scanning system to select orders.
Process and palletize all damage, penny, and RTV merchandise.

Freight loader vs dock worker skills

Common freight loader skills

Pallets, 28%
Pallet Jack, 23%
Load Freight, 15%
Delivery Vehicle, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Load Trucks, 4%

Common dock worker skills

Safety Rules, 12%
Tractor Trailer, 8%
LTL, 8%
Unload Trailers, 6%
Basic Math, 5%
Dock Equipment, 5%