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The differences between transportation directors and inventory managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a transportation director, becoming an inventory manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an inventory manager has an average salary of $62,768, which is higher than the $51,314 average annual salary of a transportation director.
The top three skills for a transportation director include DOT, logistics and CDL. The most important skills for an inventory manager are PET, direct reports, and customer service.
| Transportation Director | Inventory Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $51,314 | $62,768 |
| Hourly rate | $24.67 | $30.18 |
| Growth rate | - | -6% |
| Number of jobs | 23,622 | 30,717 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 45 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Transportation Directors are responsible for managing an organization's transportation operations. They are involved in supervising transportation projects, monitoring performance, research workflow processes, conduct strategic meetings with stakeholders, administer the budgeting process, and ensures programs comply with state and federal regulations. Besides that, transportation directors also work with the human resources department in employee recruitment as well as implementing training and orientations. Other duties include performing financial reports analysis and software tools testing.
An inventory manager is responsible for supervising the overall inventory operations, monitoring supplies and materials, and checking the accuracy of data reports from the inventory associates. Inventory managers' duties include validating stock levels using record software tools, determining the availability of stocks for purchase orders, inspecting the incoming and outgoing shipments, and addressing product concerns by communicating with suppliers and third-party vendors. An inventory manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle the staff's performance and manage customers' inquiries and complaints.
Transportation directors and inventory managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Transportation Director | Inventory Manager | |
| Average salary | $51,314 | $62,768 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $86,000 | Between $43,000 And $91,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | Zulily | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Retail |
There are a few differences between a transportation director and an inventory manager in terms of educational background:
| Transportation Director | Inventory Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between transportation directors' and inventory managers' demographics:
| Transportation Director | Inventory Manager | |
| Average age | 45 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.0% Female, 24.0% | Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.8% Asian, 6.1% White, 59.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 8.5% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 10% |