What does a transportation supervisor do?
The primary job of a transportation supervisor is to oversee the personnel, workload, and daily activities of organizations that rely on vehicle use as part of their normal operations. The typical duties and responsibilities of a transportation supervisor include monitoring the transportation budget, implementing business objectives, and supervising employee performance. Other tasks include ensuring adherence to safety standards, delegating work assignments to drivers, and managing databases. You will also assist with the hiring and dismissal of employees and training other team members on department policies and procedures.
Transportation supervisor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real transportation supervisor resumes:
- Manage relationships with outside FTL and LTL carriers to secure the best transportation rates for warehouse customer's.
- Direct employees in identifying and correcting any unsafe conditions, eliminate avoidable accidents and improve department performance manage KPI's.
- Create and lead a team of internal and external partners to move land invoices from paper transmission to electronic EDI transmission.
- Charge with managing contracts for non-emergency and emergency transportation of Medicaid and Medicare members.
- Manage inventory of inbound ocean containers, coordinate and schedule TL operations, supervise yard hostlers and manage outbound trailer traffic.
- Coordinate with medical clinicians to identify veterans in need of transportation services.
- Complete CPR and medical training to assist passengers.
- Improve driver productivity for workgroup through on- job supervision.
- Operate numerous transportation devices such as stretchers and wheelchairs.
- Dispatch and route drivers using RoadNet to maximize route efficiency.
- Used PowerPoint to create slides to use in meeting and briefings.
- Provide assistance to the doctors with procedures at the rehabilitation center.
- Use GPS tracking system to assure on-time transportation and re-route if necessary.
- Monitor GPS system to drivers on where they are at all times.
- Provide data to the performance evaluator of delinquent PMCS and expire dispatches.
Transportation supervisor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Transportation Supervisors are proficient in DOT, Customer Service, and CDL.
We break down the percentage of Transportation Supervisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- DOT, 20%
Insured mandated DOT drug and alcohol random screening and managed any consequences and appropriate disciplinary actions.
- Customer Service, 13%
Directed the logistics operations for a global automotive manufacturer responsible for training and leading a customer service and logistics team.
- CDL, 9%
Supervised a fleet of 100+ CDL Drivers in one of the largest food service chain distributors within the United States.
- OSHA, 7%
Maintained working relationship with OSHA and EPA representative completing injury reports in addition to environmental spill reports.
- Safety Regulations, 5%
Inspected buildings for compliance with safety regulations and facilitated accident investigations and prepared Standard Operational Procedures as needed.
- Federal Regulations, 4%
Conducted training in preparing hazardous and sensitive cargo for air shipments in accordance to federal regulations.
"dot," "customer service," and "cdl" are among the most common skills that transportation supervisors use at work. You can find even more transportation supervisor responsibilities below, including:
The three companies that hire the most transportation supervisors are:
Choose from 10+ customizable transportation supervisor resume templates
Build a professional transportation supervisor resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your transportation supervisor resume.
Compare different transportation supervisors
Transportation supervisor vs. Warehouse lead
Warehouse leads are responsible for supply chain management in distribution centers. Their duties and responsibilities include supervising employees and evaluating their performance, meeting safety regulations, and monitoring deliveries and shipments. They are the ones who interact with customers and clients to resolve any delivery issues that may arise. They also help with some administrative tasks such as order and invoice processing and maintenance. This role applies to those with excellent communication skills, leadership capabilities, and strong attention to detail.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, transportation supervisor responsibilities require skills like "dot," "cdl," "excellent computer," and "federal regulations." Meanwhile a typical warehouse lead has skills in areas such as "ladders," "pallets," "rf," and "sales floor." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Warehouse leads earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $41,833. On the other hand, transportation supervisors are paid more in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $56,815.warehouse leads tend to reach similar levels of education than transportation supervisors. In fact, warehouse leads are 3.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Transportation supervisor vs. Dispatch manager
A route manager determines strategic routes transport vehicles may take to every destination. A route manager's primary responsibility is to mark the shortest and fastest way to the customer's destination. The route manager also collects information from various road network sources and gets live updates of the current traffic situation in a given area. Through the route manager, transport vehicles become useful, productive, and efficient. The route manager also surveys existing routes and updates them whenever needed.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real transportation supervisor resumes. While transportation supervisor responsibilities can utilize skills like "customer service," "excellent computer," "osha," and "federal regulations," dispatch managers use skills like "service calls," "dispatch operations," "emergency situations," and "otr."
Dispatch managers may earn a lower salary than transportation supervisors, but dispatch managers earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $59,844. On the other hand, transportation supervisors receive higher pay in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $56,815.In general, dispatch managers achieve similar levels of education than transportation supervisors. They're 2.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Transportation supervisor vs. Delivery driver/manager
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from transportation supervisor resumes include skills like "dot," "excellent computer," "osha," and "safety regulations," whereas a delivery driver/manager is more likely to list skills in "customer orders," "pos," "food orders," and "bank deposits. "
Delivery driver/managers typically earn similar educational levels compared to transportation supervisors. Specifically, they're 4.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Transportation supervisor vs. Route manager
Types of transportation supervisor
Updated January 8, 2025
