Depending on region, education and experience, supply chain pros’ salaries can range from predictably subpar to surprisingly robust.

The average annual salary of manufacturing managers in the United States dropped by 9.7 percent over the past year, from $105,581 in 2008 to $95,248 in 2009, according to IndustryWeek’s 2009 Salary Survey.

“Salaries were on the decline from coast to coast, with those living in the Pacific region seeing average salaries drop by nearly $16,000,” according to this year’s survey of nearly 1,700 respondents. “The one exception to this trend was the South Central, an area where many foreign automakers have established plants, and where salaries were up an average $1,863.”

(For geographic breakdowns of average manufacturing management salaries, see IndustryWeek.)

The top three industries in terms of overall employment were industrial machinery and products (15 percent), automotive/transportation vehicles and equipment (12 percent) and metals (11 percent). These industries also had average salaries in the bottom half of all sectors. At the top of the salary rankings: consultants/academics (“probably better defined as a profession rather than an industry,” IndustryWeek clarifies) at $113,418, followed by the pharmaceutical/health care industry.

Despite less-than-stellar salary trends for manufacturers overall, the average salary reported to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) has increased each year the supply management association has performed its annual salary survey.

In ISM’s 2009 Salary Survey, the average annual compensation (including wages, bonuses and other income received before taxes and deductions) of the 1,014 supply management professionals surveyed was $98,117. This breaks down to an average of $106,679 for the men who responded and $84,090 for the women who responded. In all, 35 percent of respondents reported earning a salary of $100,000 or more.

During January and February 2009, respondents self-reported an average salary increase of 4.9 percent from the salaries they received in 2007. Of all respondents, 86 percent reported an increase in their salaries, 4 percent indicated a decrease and 10 percent reported their salaries did not change in 2008.

Average salary by job title, according to ISM’s findings:

• Chief, Purchasing/Supply Management/Sourcing — $256,560
• Vice President, Purchasing/Supply Management/Sourcing — $201,338
• Director, Purchasing/Supply Management/Sourcing — $131,204
• Manager, Purchasing/Supply Management/Sourcing — $93,132
• Experienced supply management professional — $69,680
• Entry-level supply management professional — $47,869

Geographically, the highest average salaries were in the Pacific, Mountain, West North Central, West South Central and East North Central regions of the country.

Of the 19 industry segments respondents used to classify their organizations, the highest average salary was reported in Transportation and Warehousing ($133,195). Last year’s leader, the Arts, Entertainment and Recreation industry, slipped to the bottom five. Same as last year, Educational Services ($74,304) had the lowest average salary.

(For additional information on industries with average salaries that exceeded or fell below the overall average, see ISM’s Inside Supply Management.)

According to Logistics Management’s 25th Annual Salary Survey results, “it’s evident that U.S. business is beginning to place more value on logistics and supply chain talent.” In fact, based on feedback from 1,219 respondents, “the median salary for logistics professionals is up for the first time in four years, ringing in at $85,000.”

Logistics pros’ paycheck average in 2008, according to Logistics Management’s findings:

• Vice presidents and general managers — $150,000, a 12 percent gain from the previous year
• Corporate and division managers — $120,000, or a 4 percent increase from 2007
• Logistics managers — $81,500, topping the 2007 average by nearly 4.5 percent

(For regional breakdowns of logistics pros’ salaries, see Logistics Management.)

Educational attainment “continues to be one of the biggest factors” in increasing a supply professional’s salary, according to ISM’s Inside Supply Management. Respondents with a bachelor’s degree or higher typically earned higher salaries than the overall average: Those with a bachelor’s degree averaged $92,208, and those with a master’s degree averaged $125,165. Among all degree holders, average salaries were highest for respondents with a technical/engineering degree, averaging $127,124.

IndustryWeek came to the same conclusion, having found that “managers with a bachelor’s degree (33 percent) and those who have pursued or obtained a post-graduate degree (34 percent) earn substantially more than those who have not.”

“Industry-specific degrees are being sought more by employers than they were in the past,” David Thomas, an executive recruiter at North American Findings Ltd., a logistics industry search firm, told Logistics Management. “The ones that have elevated themselves beyond the median salary are those with a higher education level, and it shows in this year’s data.”

Experience also remains a key factor influencing salaries. “Respondents with one to 10 years of experience earned an average salary of $68,000, while those with 11 to 15 years of experience earned an average of $90,000,” Logistics Management found. “Average salaries leveled out somewhat at the 16- to 20- and 21- to 25-year experience levels at $88,000 and $90,000, respectively. Those with 26 to 30 years averaged $95,000.”

ISM found that supply management pros with 21+ years of experience earned an average salary of $109,292; those with 11 to 20 years of experience earned $97,126 on average; those with six to 10 years of experience earned an average of $92,763; and those with five or fewer years of experience earned an average salary of $70,923.

The Logistics Management report, titled Swimming Against the Tide, determined that “the overall logistics workplace is becoming a little more mature, which may explain why salaries [for logistics professionals] are up for the first time in four years,” noting that the trend is “likely temporary.”

Since Logistics Management compiled the data for its report in December 2008, more companies have implemented hiring and salary freezes and continue to do so.

But if new findings from consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. are representative of true intentions, some hiring and salary changes made during the economic crisis will be rolled back.

According to a Watson Wyatt survey of 179 employers last month, almost seven in 10 companies expect to reverse a salary freeze in the next year: 17 percent in the next six months and 52 percent in the next 12 months. Only 4 percent will not reverse salary freezes.

For a more comprehensive look at supply chain salaries, broken down by industry, function and region, see the resources below.

Resources

IndustryWeek’s 2009 Salary Survey: Rebuilding Manufacturing from Scratch
by David Blanchard
IndustryWeek, March 1, 2009

2009 Salary Survey Results – Summary
Institute for Supply Management, May 2009

ISM’s 2009 Salary Survey
by David Schultz
Inside Supply Management (Vol. 20, No. 5), May 2009

25th Annual Salary Survey: Swimming Against the Tide
by Jeff Berman
Logistics Management, March 1, 2009

Effect of the Economic Crisis on HR Programs
Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc., June 22, 2009

Companies Planning to Reinstate Some Programs Cut During the Economic Crisis
Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc., June 22, 2009