Cargo and Freight Agents
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.
Most important skills
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Negotiation
- Time Management
- Writing
- Monitoring
Key knowledge
- Transportation
- Geography
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Education and Training
- Law and Government
- Telecommunications
What the work involves
- Negotiate and arrange transport of goods with shipping or freight companies.
- Advise clients on transportation and payment methods.
- Determine method of shipment and prepare bills of lading, invoices, and other shipping documents.
- Estimate freight or postal rates and record shipment costs and weights.
- Enter shipping information into a computer by hand or by a hand-held scanner that reads bar codes on goods.
- Retrieve stored items and trace lost shipments as necessary.
- Keep records of all goods shipped, received, and stored.
- Track delivery progress of shipments.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Enterprising, Realistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (30.8% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (53.6%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (35.3%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Cargo and Freight Agents is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Higher on contact with others than 57% of occupations compared | 60% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Lower on dealing with the public than 52% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 79% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 57% of occupations compared | — |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Higher on time pressure than 58% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 63% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 88% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 53% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 12.36%
- Contact with others most of the time: 27.68%
- Constant contact with others: 59.95%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 26.72%
- Important: 1.99%
- Very important: 2.96%
- Extremely important: 49.46%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2021
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 12.36%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 16.35%
- Extremely important: 46.56%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2021
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 30.04%
- Some freedom: 19.46%
- A lot of freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2021
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 1.79%
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 49.46%
- Every day: 24.03%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2021
Conflict situations
- Never: 14.35%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 25.09%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 47.17%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 8.27%
- Every day: 5.11%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 49.46%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 34.18%
- Every day: 16.36%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2021
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 14.35%
- Fairly serious: 5.11%
- Serious: 46.78%
- Very serious: 31.96%
- Extremely serious: 1.79%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2021
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O*NET-SOC 43-5011.00 · SOC 43-5011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8