What companies hire freight agents?

Companies in government, transportation, and consumer goods all hire freight agents. Government agencies that focus on monitoring the entry of goods to a location often hire freight agents to assist with these efforts, as freight agents deal with connecting shippers to carriers.

How To Become A Freight Agent: What It Is and Career Path

What is a freight agent and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Freight agents help shipping companies handle the logistics of transporting goods from one place to another by connecting them with carriers that are willing to do the job. They help negotiate favorable contracts for their clients with truck fleets or cargo ships that bring goods to the homes and businesses of waiting customers.

Besides brokering relationships between shipping companies and carriers, freight agents take care of all shipping logistics. They document shipments and make sure that they are on track to arrive on time. They keep track of paperwork such as invoices, bills, and customs declarations if goods are traveling internationally.

While some freight agents have bachelor's degrees, most do this job with only a high school diploma or GED. Practical experience with shipping or logistics, such as working as an administrative assistant, is more important than a diploma. Freight agents earn a solid average salary of $48,412 a year.

ScoreFreight AgentUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,524

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.05%

Asian 14.22%

Black or African American 6.20%

Hispanic or Latino 19.32%

Unknown 7.39%

White 51.82%

Gender

female 38.14%

male 61.86%

Age - 41.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41.5

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.0

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a freight agent

Explore freight agent education requirements

Most common freight agent degrees

Bachelor's

37.1 %

High School Diploma

25.4 %

Associate

21.0 %

Start to develop specific freight agent skills

Skills	Percentages
Logistics	75.13%
DOT	4.02%
Data Entry	3.78%
Freight Carriers	2.94%
US Customs	1.87%

Complete relevant freight agent training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New freight agents learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a freight agent based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real freight agent resumes.

Research freight agent duties and responsibilities

Manage and carry out specific program and regulatory activities such as enforcing hazmat and weight restrictions.
Prepare, issue and submit documentation to ensure proper exportation of client FCL and LCL shipments.
Solicit votes for annual and special shareholders meetings as well as for proxy fights.
Work with AS400 data system to enter nd update shipment details, carrier status and tracking and tracing.

Prepare your freight agent resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your freight agent resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a freight agent resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable freight agent resume templates

Build a professional freight agent resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your freight agent resume.