| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Logistics and Warehousing |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | Head of Logistics |
| Direct reports | Freight Forwarding Executive, Logistics Analyst |
| Experience | 6 to 10 years in freight, transport buying or forwarding |
Freight Manager job description template
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Job title: Freight Manager
Department: Logistics and Warehousing
Reports to: Head of Logistics
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Freight Manager owns the buying and management of freight. They secure capacity across full truckload, part load, rail, air and sea, negotiate rates with carriers, allocate lanes, and keep freight cost per ton-kilometre under control. The role is commercial and analytical: comparing modes and carriers, running freight tenders, auditing freight bills and settling claims. A good Freight Manager finds the cheapest reliable way to move each shipment, keeps carriers honest on rate and service, and protects margin without slowing delivery.
Key responsibilities
- Secure freight capacity across truck, rail, air and sea to match the shipment plan and seasonal demand.
- Negotiate carrier and forwarder rates, run freight tenders, and allocate lanes to the best rate and service.
- Compare modes and routes on cost, transit time and reliability and choose the right option per shipment.
- Audit freight bills against agreed rates and accessorials and release payment only after checks pass.
- Track freight cost per ton-kilometre and per shipment and drive it down without hurting delivery.
- Manage detention, demurrage and accessorial charges and challenge those that are not justified.
- File and pursue freight loss and damage claims with carriers and insurers to settlement.
- Build carrier scorecards on rate, on-time and claims and review poor performers formally.
- Coordinate with customs and forwarding teams on documentation for export and import freight.
- Report freight spend, savings and carrier performance to logistics leadership each month.
Requirements
- Graduate in commerce, logistics or a related field
- Strong grasp of domestic and international freight and Incoterms
- A supply chain or foreign trade certification is an advantage
- 6 to 10 years in freight, transport buying or forwarding
KRAs and KPIs for a Freight Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Freight cost | Freight cost per ton-kilometre reduced against the annual baseline |
| Capacity | Committed capacity available for planned shipments above 98 percent, even at peak |
| Bill accuracy | Freight bills audited before payment with billing errors recovered in full |
| Carrier performance | Contracted carriers meeting on-time and claims targets above 95 percent |
| Claims recovery | Loss and damage claims settled within the agreed period |
| Savings delivered | Annual freight savings target achieved through tenders and mode shifts |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Transport management system, Freight audit tools, MS Excel, Carrier and port portals, ERP for procurement.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Head of Logistics, Procurement Manager, General Manager Logistics
Interview questions for a Freight Manager
- How do you run a freight tender from scope to award and lock in the savings?
- When would you shift a lane from road to rail, and how do you prove the saving?
- Walk me through how you audit a freight bill and recover an overcharge.
- A carrier keeps adding detention charges. How do you handle it?
- How do you keep capacity secured during a festival-season freight crunch?
- How do you build and use a carrier performance scorecard?
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What does a Freight Manager do?
A Freight Manager buys and manages freight across truck, rail, air and sea. They negotiate carrier rates, run tenders, allocate lanes, audit freight bills, settle claims and control freight cost per ton-kilometre. They compare modes to move each shipment at the lowest reliable cost and hold carriers to rate and service through scorecards.
What is the difference between a Freight Manager and a Transport Manager?
A Freight Manager is commercial: buying capacity, negotiating rates and controlling freight spend across modes. A Transport Manager is operational: scheduling vehicles, planning routes and getting goods delivered on time. In smaller companies one person does both, but the freight role centres on cost and carriers while transport centres on execution.
What qualifications does a Freight Manager need?
A graduate degree in commerce or logistics is common, along with a solid grasp of domestic and international freight, Incoterms and freight documentation. Employers value negotiation skill, comfort with data and freight audit, and experience managing carriers. A supply chain or foreign trade certification strengthens a candidate but is not essential.