Air cargo agent vs freight forwarder

The differences between air cargo agents and freight forwarders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a freight forwarder has an average salary of $38,215, which is higher than the $36,182 average annual salary of an air cargo agent.

The top three skills for an air cargo agent include data entry, reservations and DOT. The most important skills for a freight forwarder are supply chain, customer service, and booking.

Air cargo agent vs freight forwarder overview

	Air Cargo Agent	Freight Forwarder
Yearly salary	$36,182	$38,215
Hourly rate	$17.40	$18.37
Growth rate	-	-3%
Number of jobs	27,082	6,961
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	-	-

Air cargo agent vs freight forwarder salary

Air cargo agents and freight forwarders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Air Cargo Agent	Freight Forwarder
Average salary	$36,182	$38,215
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $50,000	Between $27,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between air cargo agent and freight forwarder education

There are a few differences between an air cargo agent and a freight forwarder in terms of educational background:

	Air Cargo Agent	Freight Forwarder
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Air cargo agent vs freight forwarder demographics

Here are the differences between air cargo agents' and freight forwarders' demographics:

	Air Cargo Agent	Freight Forwarder
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 53.6% Female, 46.4%	Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 6.8% Hispanic or Latino, 26.5% Asian, 16.1% White, 43.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 7.0% Hispanic or Latino, 23.6% Asian, 18.0% White, 44.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between air cargo agent and freight forwarder duties and responsibilities

Air cargo agent example responsibilities.

Manage and carry out specific program and regulatory activities such as enforcing hazmat and weight restrictions.
Direct inbound and outbound logistics operations, such as transportation or warehouse activities, safety performance, and logistics quality management.
Service aircraft as needed for aircraft lavatories, portable water, de-icing and commissary items.
Operate vehicles to convey ULD dollies and baggage carts to and from aircraft terminal.
Experience in using, tugs, dollies, transporters, lower deck loader, main deck loader, belt loader.

Freight forwarder example responsibilities.

Maintain relationships with customs brokers and freight forwarders and assist in reviewing such service providers.
Book material RO/RO, LCL, and FCL loads on ocean line carrier for international delivery.
Maintain TSA clearance in order to ship freight on passenger airlines.
Use LogiSuite to create airway bills & TSA documents for cargo exports.
Communicate with U.S. Customs and FDA officials when necessary to expedite the exam process.
Negotiate rates and contracts with air freight agents as well as LTL and FTL base carriers

Air cargo agent vs freight forwarder skills

Common air cargo agent skills

Data Entry, 12%
Reservations, 9%
DOT, 6%
FAA, 6%
Import Shipments, 6%
Patrol, 6%

Common freight forwarder skills

Supply Chain, 23%
Customer Service, 18%
Booking, 14%
Import Export, 8%
Delivery Orders, 6%
AES, 6%