How much does a shipper/receiver make in Kitchener?

About $20 to $22 an hour. Talent.com's 2026 average for Kitchener is $20.40 an hour, and Job Bank's median for the Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie region is $22.00. At 40 hours a week, that is about $42,000 to $46,000 a year before tax.

How much does a shipper/receiver make in Guelph?

About the same as in Kitchener. Talent.com shows the same $20.40 average for Guelph, and Job Bank groups Guelph with Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Barrie, where the median is $22.00 an hour.

Do forklift operators make more than shipper/receivers?

Usually, yes. Forklift operators in Kitchener average $23.00 an hour on Talent.com, compared with $20.40 for shipper/receivers. A recent Guelph forklift posting offered $21.00 to $24.00 an hour.

What is the minimum wage in Ontario in 2026?

$17.95 an hour, in effect since October 1, 2026. No shipper/receiver job in Ontario can pay less.

When do shipper/receivers get overtime in Ontario?

After 44 hours in a work week, at 1.5 times the regular rate. At $22.00 an hour, that is $33.00 per overtime hour. Supervisors and managers are usually exempt.

How do I turn an hourly wage into a yearly salary?

Multiply the hourly rate by your weekly hours, then by 52. At $22.00 an hour and 40 hours a week, that is $45,760 a year before tax and vacation pay.

Shipper Receiver Salary in Kitchener-Waterloo 2026

A shipper/receiver in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge or Guelph usually earns about $20 to $22 an hour. That is roughly $42,000 to $46,000 a year for full-time work. Government data puts the regional median at $22.00 an hour, and no job in Ontario can pay less than the minimum wage of $17.95 an hour, in effect since October 1, 2026. This guide shows where those numbers come from, what nearby jobs pay, and what moves your pay up.

Shipper/receiver pay at a glance

Source	Low	Typical	High	Typical, per year at 40 h/week
Job Bank, shippers and receivers (NOC 14400), Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie region	$17.50/h	$22.00/h (median)	$29.00/h	$45,760
Talent.com, shipper receiver, Kitchener and Guelph	$37,050/yr entry level	$20.40/h (average)	$43,059/yr most experienced	$42,432
Ontario minimum wage (floor for any job)	$17.95/h			$37,336

The Job Bank figures were last updated on December 3, 2024, so they lag behind current pay. Their low end of $17.50 is already below today's minimum wage. Talent.com's figures are labelled 2026, are based on close to 10,000 salaries, and come from job postings rather than a survey.

What the numbers mean

The sources measure different things, so read them together rather than picking one.

Job Bank is the federal government's wage data. Its region covers Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph together with Barrie. The median ($22.00) is the middle of the range, so half the workers earn more and half earn less.
Talent.com averages pay from job postings. It shows the same figures for Kitchener and Guelph, so treat them as one regional number, not a city by city comparison.
Live job postings show what employers are offering right now. On October 7, 2026, a warehouse associate role in south Kitchener was posted at $19.50 an hour on day shift. On August 13, 2026, a forklift operator role in Guelph was posted at $21.00 to $24.00 an hour.

Put together: expect around $19.50 to start in a general warehouse role. Expect about $20 to $22 as an experienced shipper/receiver, and more with a forklift ticket or a lead role.

Pay for nearby jobs in the warehouse

These are the jobs most shipper/receivers move into or out of. Averages are for Kitchener from Talent.com, converted to a 40 hour week.

Job	Average hourly	Per year at 40 h/week	Range listed
Warehouse associate	$21.00	$43,680	$33,592 to $59,400 per year
Shipper/receiver	$20.40	$42,432	$37,050 to $43,059 per year
Logistics coordinator	$22.32	$46,426	$41,541 to $91,950 per year
Forklift operator	$23.00	$47,840	$40,950 to $93,236 per year

The ranges come straight from the source. The top ends for forklift operator and logistics coordinator are wide, which suggests the data mixes in senior and specialized jobs. The averages are the more useful number. We left warehouse supervisor out because the local data was not reliable enough to publish.

Good to know Talent.com calculates yearly pay on a 37.5 hour week. We recalculated every yearly figure in this guide at 40 hours, the most common full-time week in warehouses, so our yearly numbers are a little higher than the ones on Talent.com.

What moves your pay up

A forklift certificate. Forklift operators average $23.00 an hour against $20.40 for shipper/receivers. That gap is about $5,400 a year at 40 hours. Our training directory for Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph lists where to get certified and what it costs.
Shift choice. Afternoon, night and weekend shifts sometimes pay a premium. Ask about it in the interview, because it is rarely in the job ad.
Skills employers pay for. Inventory and warehouse software, cycle counts, building pallets for freight carriers, TDG for dangerous goods, and paperwork for shipping to the US. Since the US suspended its duty-free threshold for low-value parcels on August 29, 2025, shippers who can prepare a proper commercial invoice are more valuable.
Leading a team. Lead hand and supervisor roles pay more. In Ontario, people doing supervisory or managerial work are usually exempt from overtime pay, so compare the full yearly pay, not just the hourly rate.
Agency or direct hire. Many warehouse jobs in the region start through staffing agencies. Ask whether the role can become a direct hire, and what the pay and benefits would be then.

Your minimum rights in Ontario

These apply to most shipper/receivers under Ontario's Employment Standards Act. Your contract or a collective agreement can give you more, never less.

Minimum wage: $17.95 an hour since October 1, 2026.
Overtime: after 44 hours in a work week, at 1.5 times your regular rate. At $22.00 an hour, that is $33.00 for every overtime hour. You cannot sign away your right to overtime.
Vacation: two weeks a year and at least 4% vacation pay. After five years with the same employer, it rises to three weeks and 6%. At $22.00 an hour full time, 4% is about $1,830 a year and 6% is about $2,746.

How to turn an hourly wage into a yearly salary

Multiply your hourly rate by your weekly hours, then by 52.

Hourly	37.5 h/week	40 h/week	44 h/week (no overtime yet)
$17.95	$35,002	$37,336	$41,070
$20.00	$39,000	$41,600	$45,760
$22.00	$42,900	$45,760	$50,336
$24.00	$46,800	$49,920	$54,912
$29.00	$56,550	$60,320	$66,352

These are before tax and before vacation pay.

For employers hiring in Waterloo Region

If you are hiring a shipper/receiver locally, the data suggests:

Post the wage. The local postings we found all showed pay, so candidates can compare at a glance.
Pay at or above the $22.00 median for experience. Below it, the role pays about the same as general warehouse jobs that start near $19.50.
Pay for certificates you need. If the job needs a forklift ticket or TDG, budget for the training and record it. Both are employer duties in Ontario.

How this guide was made We compiled these figures on October 10, 2026, from Job Bank, Talent.com, live local job postings, and Ontario's Employment Standards Act guide. Wage data changes every year, so check the sources below before using a number in a negotiation or a job posting.

Shipper/receiver salary in Kitchener-Waterloo: what the job pays in 2026

Key takeaways