Ocean freight agent vs freight forwarder

The differences between ocean freight agents and freight forwarders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an ocean freight agent has an average salary of $41,633, which is higher than the $38,215 average annual salary of a freight forwarder.

The top three skills for an ocean freight agent include customer service, pre-alert and FCL. The most important skills for a freight forwarder are supply chain, customer service, and booking.

Ocean freight agent vs freight forwarder overview

	Ocean Freight Agent	Freight Forwarder
Yearly salary	$41,633	$38,215
Hourly rate	$20.02	$18.37
Growth rate	-	-3%
Number of jobs	31,303	6,961
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	-	-

Ocean freight agent vs freight forwarder salary

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

	Ocean Freight Agent	Freight Forwarder
Average salary	$41,633	$38,215
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $63,000	Between $27,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between ocean freight agent and freight forwarder education

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

	Ocean Freight Agent	Freight Forwarder
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Ocean freight agent vs freight forwarder demographics

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

	Ocean Freight Agent	Freight Forwarder
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 55.6% Female, 44.4%	Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 13.9% White, 51.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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 ocean freight agent and freight forwarder duties and responsibilities

Ocean freight agent example responsibilities.

Ensure accuracy of direct mail processing and preparation operations in accordance with DHL requirements, customer requests, and establish procedures.
Provide guidance and clarification on proxy materials, voting methods and specific proposals.

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

Ocean freight agent vs freight forwarder skills

Common ocean freight agent skills

Customer Service, 22%
Pre-Alert, 22%
FCL, 13%
AES, 11%
Invoice, 11%
LCL, 10%

Common freight forwarder skills

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

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Ocean Freight Agent
Ocean Freight Agent vs Freight Forwarder

Updated January 8, 2025

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