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.
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Licensing, certifications and working conditions
About these figures. BLS publishes wages, growth, openings and typical education for this occupation as a whole (SOC 43-5011); 1 related specialty shares them.
State licensing. Cargo and Freight Agents is licensed or registered in 1 of 57 states and territories, as reported by each state to CareerOneStop. A license often applies only to certain roles within a career, and records were last updated between 2010 and 2024, so confirm requirements with the state licensing board.
Certifications. CareerOneStop directly links 4 professional certifications to Cargo and Freight Agents. 1 of them are in CareerOneStop's "Core" group, for example: Certified Customs Specialist (CCS). Certifications are voluntary credentials offered by the organizations named; listing one is not an endorsement.
Working conditions. On average, workers stand or walk about 1.2 hours and sit about 6.7 hours per day. For 81.1% of workers the job requires sedentary strength. Shares of workers who interact with the general public (over 70%), cannot pause their work (16.3%), and are exposed to the outdoors (12.7%). From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Requirements Survey (2023 estimates); figures describe the occupation on average.
Sources: CareerOneStop (licenses and certifications), part of the CareerOneStop suite of web products, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (working conditions, wages). MajorPays has reorganized this information; these agencies have not approved or endorsed it. See it interactively, with state-by-state detail →
More data on this career
Pay by education level. Among full-time, year-round workers ages 25 to 64 in the occupation group that includes cargo and freight agents (2 related careers are counted together), median yearly pay is $42,600 with a high school diploma or GED, $50,800 with some college or an associate's degree and $55,800 with a bachelor's degree (Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2024 dollars). Pay differs for many reasons besides education, such as experience, employer and location.
Industries that employ this career. The largest shares of workers in the occupation group that includes cargo and freight agents (2 related careers are counted together) work in Transportation and Warehousing (67%), Retail Trade (15%) and Manufacturing (6%) (Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2024).
Where the jobs are, and what they pay by industry. Nationwide, the industries that employ the most workers in the occupation group that includes cargo and freight agents (2 related careers are counted together) are Freight Transportation Arrangement (55% of the jobs counted, median pay $54,730), Couriers and Express Delivery Services (10% of the jobs counted, median pay $57,660), Scheduled Air Transportation (9% of the jobs counted, median pay $49,030), Support Activities for Air Transportation (6% of the jobs counted, median pay $39,190) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Among large industries, the highest median pay is in Support Activities for Water Transportation ($60,830), Truck Transportation ($58,260), Couriers and Express Delivery Services ($57,660). Pay differs by industry for many reasons, including the mix of jobs and where employers are located.
Injury and illness rates. For the broader group "Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers", which includes this career (BLS did not publish enough cases for this exact occupation), employers reported 52.5 nonfatal injury and illness cases with days away from work per 10,000 full-time workers, compared with 94.6 for all U.S. workers; the median case kept the worker away 9 days (all workers: 8) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023-2024). Rates reflect the work setting as well as the occupation.
Union membership. In the broad group "Office and administrative support", which includes this career, 8.7% of wage and salary workers belong to a union (all U.S. workers: 10.0%); median weekly pay is $1,145 for union members and $963 for workers not in a union (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025). This is a group figure, not specific to cargo and freight agents.
Employer benefits. In the broad group "Office and administrative support", which includes this career, 78% of civilian workers had access to an employer retirement plan, 80% had access to employer medical care benefits, and 88% had paid sick leave, 88% paid vacation and 90% paid holidays (all civilian workers: 75%, 74%, 83%, 77% and 79%) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, March 2026). This is a group figure, not specific to cargo and freight agents, and having access to a benefit does not mean every worker uses it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not endorsed this presentation. Employers spent about $38.27 per hour worked on total compensation for the occupational group "Office and administrative support" in June 2026 ($25.47 in wages and salaries and $12.80 in benefits, 33.5% of the total; all civilian workers: $49.46, with 31.6% in benefits) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation).
Work environment. In O*NET's survey of workers in this occupation, the conditions most often placed at the two highest levels for cargo and freight agents are: telephone conversations (98%), contact with others (88%), determine tasks, priorities and goals (80%), time pressure (73%), importance of being exact or accurate (67%), work with or contribute to a work group or team (63%). Each percentage is the share of respondents choosing the top two levels for that condition (for example 'most of the time' or 'continually'), so it describes how common the condition is in the job, not how a particular workplace is (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).
Typical preparation. In O*NET's survey of workers in this occupation, for on-the-job training, the most common answer (35% of 16 respondents) was "over 3 months, up to and including 6 months". These are what workers report is needed to do the job; employers' requirements and individual paths vary (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).
Related careers. O*NET lists these occupations as similar to cargo and freight agents in the work done and the skills used: Freight Forwarders, Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks, Customs Brokers, Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors, Postal Service Clerks, Postal Service Mail Carriers, Light Truck Drivers, Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).
Pay by state. See what cargo and freight agents earn in each state, with the pay range and number of jobs: Cargo and Freight Agents salary by state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025).
Compare cargo and freight agents with other careers (pay, growth, openings and education side by side).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 PUMS (MajorPays' own estimates from the survey; Census is credited as the source of the original data and has not endorsed them); BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; BLS Current Population Survey; BLS National Compensation Survey (employee benefits); HRSA National Center for Health Workforce Analysis; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (LCA disclosure data, FY2025). MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; these agencies have not approved or endorsed them. See it interactively →