Cargo agent vs freight forwarder

The differences between 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 $35,411 average annual salary of a cargo agent.

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

Cargo agent vs freight forwarder overview

	Cargo Agent	Freight Forwarder
Yearly salary	$35,411	$38,215
Hourly rate	$17.02	$18.37
Growth rate	1%	-3%
Number of jobs	27,874	6,961
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	-	-

Cargo agent vs freight forwarder salary

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

	Cargo Agent	Freight Forwarder
Average salary	$35,411	$38,215
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $45,000	Between $27,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	San Diego, CA	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	United Service Technologies	-
Best paying industry	Transportation	-

Differences between cargo agent and freight forwarder education

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

	Cargo Agent	Freight Forwarder
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Cargo agent vs freight forwarder demographics

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

	Cargo Agent	Freight Forwarder
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 68.6% Female, 31.4%	Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 7.1% Hispanic or Latino, 27.5% Asian, 14.1% White, 44.5% 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 cargo agent and freight forwarder duties and responsibilities

Cargo agent example responsibilities.

Manage and carry out specific program and regulatory activities such as enforcing hazmat and weight restrictions.
Maintain compliance issues relate to TSA, FAA, and cargo operations for several major airlines.
Handle various amounts of freight including both FTL, LTL, dry, refrigerate, flatb, and intermodal.
Practice safe conscious behaviors in all operational processes and procedures by adhering to strict TSA, IATA, and DCOM regulations.
Set up containers for USPS mail.
Handle accounts that require FDA clearance.

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

Cargo agent vs freight forwarder skills

Common cargo agent skills

Security Procedures, 18%
Data Entry, 17%
Customer Service, 8%
Freight Shipments, 7%
Computer System, 7%
Air Freight, 4%

Common freight forwarder skills

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