Analyzing the movement of goods for a company, you work the data and processes behind logistics operations — carrier performance, lane costs, transit reliability, network design, and the operational analytics that turn shipment data into decisions.
Most weeks tend to involve data analysis, performance review, scenario modeling, and the steady cadence of cross-functional coordination — pulling lane-cost and on-time-delivery data, building network-optimization scenarios, sitting with transportation and customer-service teams on performance issues, prepping executive dashboards. You're often the analytical layer between operational reality and management visibility. Cost per shipment and service-level adherence anchor the operating view.
Friction tends to come from carrier data that doesn't reconcile cleanly — every carrier reports differently, EDI feeds break, and clean comparisons take real cleanup work. Variance across employers is sharp: at large shippers a TMS and BI infrastructure carry much of the load; at mid-market operations you're building reports in Excel and direct carrier reports.
The role tends to suit people who are analytically rigorous, operationally curious, and patient with messy data. APICS CSCP and CLTD credentials anchor advancement. The trade-off is operating downstream of decisions — the analyst supports the choices others make, and the visible credit tends to flow to the operators executing them.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Business Operations roles →Analyzing the movement of goods for a company, you work the data and processes behind logistics operations — carrier performance, lane costs, transit reliability, network design, and the operational analytics that turn shipment data into decisions.
Median pay for a Logistics Analyst is about $81K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $49K to $132K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, and Monitoring.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 16.7% through 2034, with roughly 235,640 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Senior Logistics Analyst, Logistics Engineer, and Logistics Coordinator.
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