Occupation Details
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.
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Interests
Realistic
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Enterprising
Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Conventional
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Work Values
Relationships
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Independence
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Salary & Job Outlook
Starting Salary
$37,030.00
New York StateMedian Salary
$49,550.00
New York StateExperienced Salary
$65,660.00
New York StateNational Average for Comparison
New York State Job Market Outlook
Jobs Right Now (2018)
6,210
professionals in NYFuture Job Growth (2030)
7,820
+161 jobs/yearNew Jobs Every Year
844
new opportunities yearlyGrowth Rate
0.3%
projected increasePreparation: Experience, Training, and Education
The list below outlines the prior educational experience required to perform in this occupation.
Some Training - Certificate or hands-on training
Experience Requirements
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education Requirements
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Training Details
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Transferrable Skills and Experience
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
School Programs
The following lists school programs which are applicable to this occupation.
Licensing & Certification
State License and Certifications Requirements are not currently associated with this occupation.
Apprenticeship
Contact your regional representative to learn more about apprenticeships available in your area by visiting Apprenticeship Contacts.
Skills
The list below includes the skills required by workers in this occupation; skills are what allow you to learn more quickly and improve your performance.
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.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Skill level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Knowledge
The list below includes knowledge items, the principles and facts required by this occupation.
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.
Law and Government
Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
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.
Knowledge level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Work Environment
The list below includes the physical and social factors that influence the nature of work in this occupation.
Hover over or tap each factor to see its description.
Work Styles
Included in the list below are the personal work style characteristics that can affect how well a worker is likely to perform in this occupation.
Achievement/Effort
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Adaptability/Flexibility
Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Analytical Thinking
Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Attention to Detail
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Independence
Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Initiative
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Persistence
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Stress Tolerance
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Tools & Technology
This list below describes the machines, equipment, tools, software, and information technology that workers in this occupation will use.
Tools
- Crow bars
- Desktop computers
- Electrical power unit
- Forklifts
- Hammers
- Hand trucks
- Laser facsimile machines
- Laser printers
- Mobile air-conditioning units
- Radio frequency identification RFID scanners
- Staple guns
- Steel cutters
- Straight trucks
- Strapping machines
- Tow tractors
- Two way radios
Technology
- Brokerage software
- Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
- Database software
- Email software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft OneNote
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Posting software
- SAP business and customer relations management software
- Spreadsheet software
- Transportation management software
- Web browser software
- Web-based dispatch software
Duties
Duties are job behaviors describing activities that occur on multiple jobs. The generalized and detailed work activities described in the list below apply to this occupation.
- expedite freight movement
- maintain records, reports, or files
- prepare reports
- sell products or services
- collect payment
- provide customer service
- answer customer or public inquiries
- compile numerical or statistical data
- calculate monetary exchange
- verify ticket or pass
- use computers to enter, access or retrieve data
- load/unload passenger luggage or cargo
- observe loading of freight to ensure crew compliance with procedures
- route freight shipments
- read maps
- obtain flight information from dispatcher
Tasks
The list below outlines specific tasks that a worker in this occupation is called upon to do regularly.
- Negotiate and arrange transport of goods with shipping or freight companies.
- Determine method of shipment and prepare bills of lading, invoices, and other shipping documents.
- Track delivery progress of shipments.
- Prepare manifests showing numbers of airplane passengers and baggage, mail, and freight weights, transmitting data to destinations.
- Advise clients on transportation and payment methods.
- Arrange insurance coverage for goods.
- Estimate freight or postal rates and record shipment costs and weights.
- Install straps, braces, and padding to loads to prevent shifting or damage during shipment.
- Keep records of all goods shipped, received, and stored.
- Notify consignees, passengers, or customers of freight or baggage arrival and arrange for delivery.
- Check import or export documentation to determine cargo contents and use tariff coding system to classify goods according to fee or tariff group.
- Coordinate and supervise activities of workers engaged in packing and shipping merchandise.
- Contact vendors or claims adjustment departments to resolve shipment problems or contact service depots to arrange for repairs.
- Inspect and count items received and check them against invoices or other documents, recording shortages and rejecting damaged goods.
- Route received goods to first available flight or to appropriate storage areas or departments, using forklifts, hand trucks, or other equipment.
- Retrieve stored items and trace lost shipments as necessary.
- Enter shipping information into a computer by hand or by a hand-held scanner that reads bar codes on goods.
- Direct delivery trucks to shipping doors or designated marshaling areas and help load and unload goods safely.
- Assemble containers and crates used to transport items, such as machines or vehicles.
- Maintain a supply of packing materials.
- Direct or participate in cargo loading to ensure completeness of load and even distribution of weight.
- Pack goods for shipping, using tools such as staplers, strapping machines, and hammers.
- Attach address labels, identification codes, and shipping instructions to containers.
- Open cargo containers and unwrap contents, using steel cutters, crowbars, or other hand tools.
Learning Resources
More information on this occupation may be found in the links provided below.
Cargo and freight agents
Visit this link for additional information on this career from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; a publication produced and maintained by the United States Department of Labor.
Learn MoreMaterial recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing occupations, except postal workers (Intro)
Visit this link for additional information on this career from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; a publication produced and maintained by the United States Department of Labor.
Learn MoreTransportation Specialists
Visit this link for information on this career in the military.
Learn More