Lumber yard worker vs material handler

The differences between lumber yard workers and material handlers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a material handler has an average salary of $33,215, which is higher than the $31,052 average annual salary of a lumber yard worker.

The top three skills for a lumber yard worker include building materials, load trucks and safety procedures. The most important skills for a material handler are pallets, basic math, and forklifts.

Lumber yard worker vs material handler overview

	Lumber Yard Worker	Material Handler
Yearly salary	$31,052	$33,215
Hourly rate	$14.93	$15.97
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	26,544	174,068
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 55%	High School Diploma, 51%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Lumber yard worker vs material handler salary

Lumber yard workers and material handlers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lumber Yard Worker	Material Handler
Average salary	$31,052	$33,215
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $38,000	Between $26,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Bellingham, WA	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	Washington	Minnesota
Best paying company	Bloedorn Lumber	Battelle
Best paying industry	Construction	Automotive

Differences between lumber yard worker and material handler education

There are a few differences between a lumber yard worker and a material handler in terms of educational background:

	Lumber Yard Worker	Material Handler
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 55%	High School Diploma, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Lumber yard worker vs material handler demographics

Here are the differences between lumber yard workers' and material handlers' demographics:

	Lumber Yard Worker	Material Handler
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 94.6% Female, 5.4%	Male, 77.6% Female, 22.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 5.5% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 13.9% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 5.6% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between lumber yard worker and material handler duties and responsibilities

Lumber yard worker example responsibilities.

Cut selected sizes of lumber and grades them and then stack all sizes on pallets to be ship.
Adjust controls to guide, position, or move equipment, such as cranes, booms, or cameras.
Used cutting torches, concrete saws, pneumatic tools.
Deliver block and brick on boom and buggy trucks.
Operate forklift and other heavy equipment such as, booms, skid steers, backhoes, reach forklifts, etc.

Material handler example responsibilities.

Utilize a manufacturing cloud ERP system to accomplish tasks.
Operate forklift according to OSHA safety regulations.
Pull parts from stockroom using detail BOM's.
Perform daily transactions of materials and inventory movements in ERP system.
Help train in coming personnel on FedEx and LTL carriers shipping systems.
Move parts from CNC operators to stock area or to assemblers directly.

Lumber yard worker vs material handler skills

Common lumber yard worker skills

Building Materials, 16%
Load Trucks, 15%
Safety Procedures, 13%
Delivery Truck, 12%
Customer Orders, 6%
RAN, 4%

Common material handler skills

Pallets, 12%
Basic Math, 6%
Forklifts, 6%
Math, 5%
Customer Service, 4%
Hand Tools, 4%

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Lumber Yard Worker vs Material Handler

Updated January 8, 2025

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