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Logistics Analysts

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeModerate pressure Bright Outlook

What they do

Analyze product delivery or supply chain processes to identify or recommend changes. May manage route activity including invoicing, electronic bills, and shipment tracing.

Kinds of work

  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.
  • Enterprising: Leading, persuading, selling and starting new projects or businesses.
  • Investigative: Science, research, figuring out how things work and solving complex problems.

Moderate pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $82,320 Median per year · $39.58/hr Most earn $50,890–$133,160

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Maintain logistics records in accordance with corporate policies.
  • Provide ongoing analyses in areas such as transportation costs, parts procurement, back orders, or delivery processes.
  • Communicate with or monitor service providers, such as ocean carriers, air freight forwarders, global consolidators, customs brokers, or trucking companies.
  • Contact carriers for rates or schedules.
  • Monitor inventory transactions at warehouse facilities to assess receiving, storage, shipping, or inventory integrity.
  • Recommend improvements to existing or planned logistics processes.

Job outlook

Bright Outlook Rapid Growth

United States
18% more jobs by 2035, much faster than average · about 26,600 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Federal government, excluding postal service14.0%
  • Management of companies and enterprises10.7%
  • Management, scientific, and technical consulting services5.2%
  • Freight transportation arrangement3.5%
  • Aerospace product and parts manufacturing3.3%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 4 to 6 years

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeExperience before this job: 4 to 6 years

Logistics Analyst is not usually an entry-level job. Most people earn a bachelor's degree, then spend roughly 4 to 6 years in related supply chain or logistics work before moving into this role.

  1. Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, logistics, or business

    4 years

    Coursework in operations, transportation, and data analysis builds the base you need to understand how products move from supplier to customer.

  2. Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerk

    1-2 years

    In this role you track orders, schedules, and shipments day to day, which teaches you where delivery processes break down and how to fix them.

  3. Logistician

    2-4 years

    You begin planning and improving supply chain systems on your own, which builds the analytical skills and process knowledge needed for analyst work.

  4. Logistics Analyst

    Career goal

    You study delivery and supply chain processes, recommend changes, and oversee shipment tracking and invoicing.

Where it can lead

  1. Supply Chain Manager

    4-6 years as a Logistics Analyst of experience first

    You move from analyzing processes to leading the teams and budgets that run the whole supply chain, which usually requires strong leadership and planning experience.

  2. Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Manager

    5-8 years in logistics or distribution work of experience first

    You oversee warehouses, fleets, or shipping operations and the staff who run them, so hands-on operations experience and people management become central.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take math and statistics classesStrong math skills, especially statistics, prepare you for the data analysis that logistics analysts do every day.
  • Take a business or economics classLearning how companies buy, sell, and move products gives you context for supply chain decisions.
  • Get a starter job in retail, warehousing, or shippingWorking with inventory, deliveries, or customer orders shows you how products actually move.
  • Join a business club or DECA-style group at your schoolTeamwork and presentation practice help you explain process improvement ideas to others later.
  • Learn basic spreadsheet softwarePracticing with spreadsheets for school projects or a part-time job builds skills you will use in college and in the career.

In college

  • Major in supply chain management, logistics, or businessA degree in this area covers transportation, inventory, and operations, which is the core knowledge for this career.
  • Take statistics, data analysis, and database coursesAnalysts use data to find delivery problems and recommend changes, so these skills are central to the job.
  • Seek an internship at a distribution center, freight company, or manufacturerHands-on experience with real shipments and planning gives you work to describe to future employers and helps you find out what you enjoy.
  • Work a campus job involving inventory or schedulingRoles in the campus bookstore, dining stock, or event supplies teach process tracking and organization.
  • Join a supply chain or business student organizationClubs and case competitions let you practice analyzing a process and presenting improvements, and they often connect you with employers.

Tips for getting started

  • Look for part-time or summer jobs in warehouses, shipping, retail stockrooms, or delivery companies. Seeing how real deliveries work makes the rest of your studies much easier to connect.
  • Get comfortable with spreadsheets early. Learning formulas, pivot tables, and basic data charts will help in almost every logistics job.
  • Ask a working logistics or supply chain professional for a short informational interview. Their career story can show you the most useful classes and first jobs.

Related jobs that often lead here

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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