Occupation Profile for Shipping, Receiving, and Traffic Clerks
Verify and keep records on incoming and outgoing shipments. Prepare items for shipment. Duties include assembling, addressing, stamping, and shipping merchandise or material; receiving, unpacking, verifying and recording incoming merchandise or material; and arranging for the transportation of products.
Signficant Points
- Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks generally are entry-level workers who need no more than a high school diploma.
- Slower-than-average employment growth is expected as a result of increasing automation; many additional job openings will result from the need to replace workers who leave the occupation.
- Because of increasing automation, employers prefer to hire those familiar with computers and other electronic office and business equipment.
Overview
| $26,070.00 | Median Annual Wage | 21,000 | Average Job Openings Per Year |
| 6.3 | Average Unemployment Percentage | 64.3 | Percentage That Completed High School |
| 769,000 | Employment Numbers in 2006 | 29.6 | Percentage That Had Some College |
| 797,000 | Employment Numbers in 2016 (est.) | 6.1 | Percentage That Went Beyond College Degree |
Sample Job Titles
Training
- These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include sheet metal workers, forest fire fighters, customer service representatives, pharmacy technicians, salespersons (retail), and tellers.
- These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed.
- Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a teller might benefit from experience working directly with the public, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be a teller with little difficulty.
- Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees.
Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks generally are entry-level workers who need no more than a high school diploma. Because of increasing automation, however, employers prefer to hire those familiar with computers and other electronic office and business equipment.
Education and training. Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks usually learn the job by doing routine tasks under close supervision. They first learn how to count and mark stock, and then they start keeping records and taking inventory.
Training in the use of automated equipment usually is done informally, on the job. As these occupations become more automated, however, workers may need longer periods of training to master the use of the equipment and technology. Because of increasing automation, employers prefer to hire those familiar with computers and other electronic office and business equipment.
Other qualifications. Strength, stamina, good eyesight, and an ability to work at repetitive tasks, sometimes under pressure, are important characteristics. Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks who handle jewelry, liquor, or drugs may need to be bonded.
Advancement. Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks are commonly promoted to head clerk, and those with a broad understanding of shipping and receiving may sometimes become purchasing agents or enter a related field, such as industrial traffic management. The Warehousing Education and Research Council offers online courses in distribution and logistics, which may enhance a clerk’s potential for advancement.
Nature of Work
Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks keep records of all goods shipped and received. Their duties depend on the size of the establishment they work for and the level of automation used. Larger companies typically are better able to finance the purchase of computers, scanners, and other equipment to handle some or all of a clerk’s responsibilities. In smaller companies, a clerk maintains records, prepares shipments, sorts packages, and accepts deliveries. In both environments, shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks may lift cartons of various sizes.
Shipping clerks keep records of all outgoing shipments. They prepare shipping documents and mailing labels and make sure that orders have been filled correctly. Also, they record items taken from inventory and note when orders were filled. Sometimes they fill the order themselves, taking merchandise from the stockroom, noting when inventories run low, and wrapping or packing the goods in shipping containers. They also address and label packages, look up and compute freight or postal rates, and record the weight and cost of each shipment. In addition, shipping clerks may prepare invoices and furnish information about shipments to other parts of the company, such as the accounting department. Once a shipment is checked and ready to go, shipping clerks may sort and move the goods from the warehouse—sometimes by forklift—to the shipping dock or truck terminal and direct their loading.
Receiving clerks perform tasks similar to those of shipping clerks. They determine whether orders have been filled correctly by verifying incoming shipments against the original order and the accompanying bill of lading or invoice. They make a record of the shipment and the condition of its contents. In many firms, receiving clerks either use hand-held scanners to record barcodes on incoming products or manually enter the information into a computer. These data then can be transferred to the appropriate departments. An increasing number of clerks at larger, more automated companies use radio-frequency identification (RFID) scanners, which store and remotely retrieve data using tags or transponders. Clerks then check the shipment for any discrepancies in quantity, price, and discounts. Receiving clerks may route or move shipments to the proper department, warehouse section, or stockroom. They also may arrange for adjustments with shippers if merchandise is lost or damaged. Receiving clerks in small businesses may perform some duties similar to those of stock clerks. In larger establishments, receiving clerks may control all receiving platform operations, such as scheduling of trucks, recording of shipments, and handling of damaged goods.
Traffic clerks maintain records on the destination, weight, and charges on all incoming and outgoing freight. They verify rate charges by comparing the classification of materials with rate charts. In many companies, this work may be automated. Information either is scanned or is entered by hand into a computer for use by the accounting department or other departments within the company. Traffic clerks also keep a file of claims for overcharges and for damage to goods in transit.
Work environment. Most jobs for shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks involve frequent standing, bending, walking, and stretching. Lifting and carrying smaller items also may be involved, especially at small companies with less automation. Although automated devices have lessened the physical demands of this occupation, their use remains somewhat limited. The work still can be strenuous, even though mechanical material handling equipment, such as computerized conveyor systems, is used to move heavy items at a rapid pace.
The typical workweek is Monday through Friday; however, evening and weekend hours are common in some jobs and may be required when large shipments are involved or during major holiday periods.
Related Occupations
- Procurement Clerks
- Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks
- Stock Clerks- Stockroom, Warehouse, or Storage Yard
- Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping
- Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators
- Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and Repairers
- Freight and Cargo Inspectors
Related Academic Programs
- General Office Occupations and Clerical Services.
- Traffic, Customs, and Transportation Clerk/Technician.