Terminal Manager

Forward Air Corp.; Fort Wayne (IN); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base pay

Health insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Job summary

Forward Air Corp. seeks an experienced Terminal Manager to lead and optimize terminal operations, from inbound receipt to final delivery, across multimodal transportation networks.

You will drive workforce planning, capacity, and productivity while ensuring safety, compliance, and cost controls. You will partner with carriers, customers, and internal teams to deliver on contractual commitments, manage P&L, and use data-driven decisions to improve performance and service levels.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, or related field preferred; HS diploma acceptable.
• 5+ years leadership in multimodal transportation or 3PL environments.
• Strong knowledge of multimodal processes, carrier operations, and KPI reporting.
• Proven ability to manage KPIs, labor planning, and cost performance.
• Experience with dashboards/scorecards and transportation KPI reporting.
• Proficiency with Windows and Microsoft 365 tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead terminal operations from inbound to final delivery.
• Ensure safety, quality, regulatory, and financial targets across modes.
• Coach teams to drive discipline and accuracy in execution.
• Own P&L, labor costs, and cost-to-serve across modes.
• Plan workforce, forecast volume, and align capacity by network demand.
• Monitor performance, identify variances, and take corrective actions.
• Manage capital expenditures and asset investments for terminal.
• Drive productivity, quality, velocity, and safety improvements.
• Establish KPIs aligned with safety, compliance, and on-time performance.
• Lead regular reviews and develop staff through coaching.

Skills

Leadership

Multimodal operations

KPI reporting

Cost control

Data-driven decisions

Safety compliance

Education

Bachelor's in Logistics or Supply Chain

Tools

TMS

WMS

ERP (McLeod, SAP, Oracle)

Job description

• Locations 9402 Yeager Lane, Fort Wayne, IN, 46809, US (On-site)
• Job Category Operations: Leadership
• Job Category Logistics and Transportation
• Job Function Operations

Job Description

The Terminal Manager is responsible for leading all aspects of terminal operations. This role provides strategic and day‑to‑day leadership to ensure safe, compliant, and efficient movement of freight from inbound receipt through final delivery. The Terminal Manager ensures operational performance aligns with contractual, service, financial, and regulatory commitments across all supported modes. They drive workforce planning, capacity management, cost control, and terminal productivity through strong operational discipline and data‑driven decision‑making. They partner with transportation providers, carriers, customers, and internal teams to ensure seamless handoffs and service delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead all operations across the terminal’s transportation flows from inbound receipt through final delivery.
• Ensure service, financial, safety, quality, and regulatory requirements are met across all transportation modes.
• Coach operations and support teams to drive consistent execution, operational discipline, and process accuracy.
• Own terminal P&L performance, including labor, variable costs, period expenses, and cost-to-serve across modes.
• Lead workforce planning, volume forecasting, transportation capacity alignment, and cross‑mode resource allocation based on network and customer demand.
• Monitor terminal operational and financial performance, identify variances, and implement corrective actions.
• Manage terminal capital expenditures tied to approved investments, terminal improvements, and all operational handling needs.
• Sponsor and lead initiatives that improve productivity, quality, velocity, safety, and cost performance.
• Establish and manage terminal KPIs aligned with safety, regulatory compliance, on‑time performance, mode accuracy, cost, and productivity.
• Lead regular operational, transportation, and performance reviews to assess results and identify improvement opportunities.
• Proactively manage employee relations through communication, coaching, performance feedback, and team development.
• Ensure robust safety practices and full compliance with DOT, OSHA, TSA, FMC, IATA, rail, and other mode‑specific regulations.
• Collaborate with carriers, drayage providers, freight forwarders, brokers, linehaul partners, and regulatory authorities to ensure smooth multimodal operations.
• Support and promote continuous improvement methodologies using data, structured problem‑solving, and transportation analytics.
• All other duties as assigned to meet evolving business needs.

Qualifications

• Education: Undergraduate degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Transportation, Logistics, or a related field preferred; High School Diploma or GED/equivalent required.
• Certification/Licensure: Valid forklift certification/licensure (or ability to obtain before operating equipment) required, including operation of applicable material handling equipment (MHE) such as sit‑down/stand‑up forklifts, reach trucks, order pickers, pallet riders, or other specialized MHE as required by the site. Additional equipment certifications may be required depending on facility needs.
• Training in Lean, Six Sigma, DOT compliance, IATA/IMDG familiarity, or similar is preferred.
• Experience: 5+ years of leadership experience in multimodal transportation, 3PL, contract logistics, or operational environments involving ground, air, ocean, or rail.
• Strong working knowledge of multimodal transportation processes, carrier operations, freight flow management, and terminal/linehaul coordination.
• Strong functional understanding of TMS, WMS, ERP (McLeod, SAP, Oracle, etc.), and reporting/data tools.
• Proven ability to manage operational KPIs, labor planning, transportation capacity, and cost performance.
• Experience developing and using dashboards, scorecards, and transportation KPI reporting to manage terminal performance.
• Ability to create, track, and interpret safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity metrics across multiple transportation modes.
• Demonstrated discretion and confidentiality in handling and protecting sensitive information.
• Technical: Proficient with common office technologies, including Windows PCs, Microsoft O365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and web conferencing (Teams, Zoom, Webex, etc.).
• Environment: Comfort commuting to/from and working in a 100% on‑site setting (listed in this posting), with travel for related meetings/events.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Compensation: Competitive base pay based on experience, industry/geographic benchmarks and internal equity. Some positions may be eligible for incentive pay programs and/or equity-based incentives. Pay ranges published on job boards are not provided nor verified by the Company.
• Health: Medical and Pharmacy insurance; Health Savings Account (HSA); Vision; Dental; Life and Disability; Critical Illness; Accident Indemnity; Hospital Indemnity; On‑demand telehealth via Teladoc; Employee Assistance Program (counseling and financial/lifestyle coaching).
• Wealth: 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer match; Employee stock purchase program; Flexible Spending Account (FSA); Commuter Benefits; LegalEASE legal coverage.
• Time: 7 paid holidays and generous Paid Time Off (PTO) tiers ranging from 10–25 days annually.
• Culture: A collaborative, transformation-driven, solutions-first environment full of "can do" attitude and "will do" work ethic.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Work Authorization: Within the United States, the Company is an E-Verify employer. Unless otherwise indicated, U.S.-based workers must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship, including but not limited to F-1, H-1, H-2, L, J, and TN visas, etc.
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): The Company is proud to be an equal opportunity employer . Applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or veteran status.
• Reasonable Accommodations: Physical/mental requirements are listed only to identify where potential accommodations may be needed, not as qualification standards. In compliance with applicable laws and regulations (including ADA, ADEA, and FMLA), accommodations may be available to qualified individuals unable to perform essential duties without them. Additional requirements may apply to meet legal, regulatory, and Company standards.