Merchandise handler vs freight team associate

The differences between merchandise handlers and freight team associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a freight team associate has an average salary of $32,188, which is higher than the $31,855 average annual salary of a merchandise handler.

The top three skills for a merchandise handler include basic math, math and pallets. The most important skills for a freight team associate are sales floor, customer service, and electric pallet jack.

Merchandise handler vs freight team associate overview

	Merchandise Handler	Freight Team Associate
Yearly salary	$31,855	$32,188
Hourly rate	$15.31	$15.47
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	47,657	31,676
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 43%	High School Diploma, 45%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Merchandise handler vs freight team associate salary

Merchandise handlers and freight team associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Merchandise Handler	Freight Team Associate
Average salary	$31,855	$32,188
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $37,000	Between $26,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Taunton, MA	-
Highest paying state	Hawaii	-
Best paying company	The RealReal	-
Best paying industry	Retail	-

Differences between merchandise handler and freight team associate education

There are a few differences between a merchandise handler and a freight team associate in terms of educational background:

	Merchandise Handler	Freight Team Associate
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 43%	High School Diploma, 45%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Merchandise handler vs freight team associate demographics

Here are the differences between merchandise handlers' and freight team associates' demographics:

	Merchandise Handler	Freight Team Associate
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 60.3% Female, 39.7%	Male, 81.5% Female, 18.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 5.9% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 13.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.4% Asian, 5.5% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between merchandise handler and freight team associate duties and responsibilities

Merchandise handler example responsibilities.

Clean and maintain the warehouse in compliance with OSHA standards.
Make visual evaluations and floor moves while maintaining OSHA guidelines.
Process incoming merchandise shipments by unpacking products, moving items in WMS, steaming clothing, and stocking shelves.
Transport pallets to where they need to go in the store to insure products are stocked up properly for customer needs.
Distribute production materials to designate locations on assembly lines observing the first-in-first-out (FIFO) inventory control practice.
Greet customers while bagging their groceries, collect carts in parking lot, put away return items, general sanitation.

Freight team associate example responsibilities.

Manage customer resolutions associate with flight reservations.
Unload, POS associate (cashier), floor associate.
Summer position in a basic retail role with inventory responsibility after closing including some training with forklifts and power jacks
Assist customers with loading groceries, stage merchandise for customer purchase

Merchandise handler vs freight team associate skills

Common merchandise handler skills

Basic Math, 21%
Math, 17%
Pallets, 11%
Hand Tools, 10%
Purchase Orders, 6%
Hand Trucks, 6%

Common freight team associate skills

Sales Floor, 21%
Customer Service, 17%
Electric Pallet Jack, 13%
Store Shelves, 11%
Store Merchandise, 10%
Forklifts, 5%

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Transportation Industry
Merchandise Handler
Merchandise Handler vs Freight Team Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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