Office and administrative support
Production, planning, and expediting clerks
Coordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials within or between departments of an establishment according to production schedule. Duties include reviewing and distributing production, work, and shipment schedules; conferring with department supervisors to determine progress of work and completion dates; and compiling reports on progress of work, inventory levels, costs, and production problems.
Median pay
$59,650
Growth to 2035
−1%
little or no change
Openings a year
32,600
Time to qualify*
6 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Production, planning, and expediting clerks
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
Calculate your switch to production, planning, and expediting clerks
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Production, planning, and expediting clerks: 71% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Distribute production schedules or work orders to departments.
- Revise production schedules when required due to design changes, labor or material shortages, backlogs, or other interruptions, collaborating with management, marketing, sales, production, or engineering.
- Review documents, such as production schedules, work orders, or staffing tables, to determine personnel or materials requirements or material priorities.
- Arrange for delivery, assembly, or distribution of supplies or parts to expedite flow of materials and meet production schedules.
- Confer with establishment personnel, vendors, or customers to coordinate production or shipping activities and to resolve complaints or eliminate delays.
- Requisition and maintain inventories of materials or supplies necessary to meet production demands.
- Confer with department supervisors or other personnel to assess progress and discuss needed changes.
- Plan production commitments or timetables for business units, specific programs, or jobs, using sales forecasts.
Also called: Expeditor · Inventory Control Specialist · Material Requirements Planner (MRP) · Materials Coordinator · Materials Planner · Production Assistant · Production Clerk · Production Controller
Outlook and AI
Production, planning, and expediting clerks held 392,100 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 387,100 by 2035 (−1%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
Productivity change, demand change - share decreases as productivity enhancements due to technology more than offset the increased demand for logistical services.
Compare with
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks vs. Project manager
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks vs. Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks vs. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks vs. Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks vs. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks vs. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks vs. Procurement clerk
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks vs. Industrial engineering technologists and technicians
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks vs. Stockers and order fillers