Careers > Cargo and Freight Agents

Cargo and Freight Agents

$46.86K Median Salary 10.7K Job Openings (Annual Projection) 9.9% Job Growth

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About This Career

Expedite and route movement of incoming and outgoing cargo and freight shipments in airline, train, and trucking terminals and shipping docks. Take orders from customers and arrange pickup of freight and cargo for delivery to loading platform. Prepare and examine bills of lading to determine shipping charges and tariffs.

Reported Job Titles

Air Export Specialist, Drop Shipment Clerk, Freight Broker, Intermodal Dispatcher, International Coordinator, Load Planner, Logistics Coordinator, Logistics Service Representative, Ship Broker, Traffic and Documentation Clerk

Career data shown for:

Skills You'll Need

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Abilities

Oral Comprehension

Oral Expression

Written Comprehension

Near Vision

Problem Sensitivity

Written Expression

Category Flexibility

Deductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning

Selective Attention

Speech Clarity

Speech Recognition

Knowledge

Transportation

Geography

Public Safety and Security

English Language

Administration and Management

Education and Training

Law and Government

Telecommunications

Administrative

Customer and Personal Service

Communications and Media

Skills

Speaking

Active Listening

Critical Thinking

Reading Comprehension

Negotiation

Time Management

Complex Problem Solving

Coordination

Monitoring

Service Orientation

Social Perceptiveness

Writing

Technology Skills

Electronic mail software

Word processing software

Mobile location based services software

Office suite software

Spreadsheet software

Enterprise resource planning ERP software

Procurement software

Internet browser software

Presentation software

Data base user interface and query software

Inventory management software

Operating system software

Tools

Ground power units for aircraft

Air conditioners

Wrapping machinery

Cargo trucks

Pry bars

Radio frequency scanners

Hand trucks or accessories

Metal cutters

Laser fax machine

Aircraft pushback or tow tractors

Two way radios

Staple guns

Hammers

Forklifts

Laser printers

Desktop computers

Wheel chocks

Abilities

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Knowledge

Transportation: Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Geography: Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Law and Government: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Telecommunications: Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Administrative: Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Communications and Media: Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Skills

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Technology Skills

Electronic mail software: IBM Notes; Microsoft Exchange; Microsoft Outlook
Word processing software: 3M Post-it App; Evernote; Google Docs; Microsoft Word
Mobile location based services software: Global positioning system GPS software
Office suite software: Microsoft Office software
Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel
Enterprise resource planning ERP software: Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne; Oracle PeopleSoft; Oracle PeopleSoft Financials; SAP software
Procurement software: Purchasing software
Internet browser software: Web browser software
Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint
Data base user interface and query software: Blackboard software; Database software; Microsoft Access; Yardi software
Inventory management software: Assisi Software Assisi Inventory
Operating system software: Microsoft Windows

Tools

Ground power units for aircraft: Electrical power unit
Air conditioners: Air conditioning units
Wrapping machinery: High speed wrapping machines
Cargo trucks: Logging trucks
Pry bars:
Radio frequency scanners: Radio frequency identification RFID scanners
Hand trucks or accessories: Handcarts
Metal cutters: Aviation snips
Laser fax machine: Laser facsimile machines
Aircraft pushback or tow tractors: Tow tractors
Two way radios:
Staple guns: Stapling machines
Hammers:
Forklifts:
Laser printers: Computer laser printers
Desktop computers:
Wheel chocks:

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