Benchmark your pay before the January rush

November is when logistics teams across Suffolk feel the squeeze of peak volume, but it is also the best time to fix your recruitment pipeline. If you have struggled to fill operational seats in Felixstowe or Ipswich recently, your advertised pay might simply be out of step with what competitors offer today. Auditing your pay bands against current market medians is the single most effective change you can make before the new year starts.

Where local pay packets sit right now

Candidates along the A14 corridor talk to each other, and experienced freight and transport staff know what their skills command. Looking at our own vacancy data gives a clear snapshot of where employer pay currently lands:

• Freight forwarding: Demand remains high with 19 live roles, carrying a median advertised salary of £33,500 based on 23 recent vacancies.
• Warehousing: 9 live vacancies, showing a median rate of £32,500 across 14 tracked roles.
• Transport and driving: Transport roles show a median of £43,750 across 16 vacancies (with 5 live now), while driving positions sit at £46,250 across 10 vacancies (3 live now).
• Specialist and operational roles: Shipping roles sit at a £30,000 median across 3 vacancies (1 live), senior management shows £42,500 across 6 roles (1 live), and industrial equipment roles stand at £47,500 across 3 roles (1 live). We also hold 1 live vacancy in accounting and finance.

The cost of out-of-date pay brackets

Most hiring delays do not come from a shortage of local talent; they happen because an advertised package reflects what an employer paid someone two years ago. In an active freight hub like Felixstowe, a gap of just £1,500 to £2,000 on an import clerk or warehouse supervisor role will leave your advert sitting untouched.

Vague job adverts make the problem worse. When you list a role as "salary competitive" or advertise below the local median, strong candidates will not risk applying. They choose the employer who states a clear, realistic rate upfront. Adjusting your figures to match today's going rates cuts weeks off your time to hire and stops candidates dropping out when you reach the offer stage.

What to do this month

• Compare your current freight forwarding pay against the local median of £33,500 and warehouse pay against the £32,500 mark before releasing new adverts.
• Audit driver and transport pay bands against the current medians of £46,250 and £43,750 to protect your operation against mid-peak staff churn.
• Remove "competitive salary" from your active job listings and replace it with a firm, realistic figure.
• Agree your revised hiring budgets with finance now so you can go straight to market in early January without internal delays. If you want to review how your packages compare across Felixstowe, get in touch with LME Recruitment today.