Ocean freight agent vs import specialist

The differences between ocean freight agents and import specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an import specialist has an average salary of $51,757, which is higher than the $41,633 average annual salary of an ocean freight agent.

The top three skills for an ocean freight agent include customer service, pre-alert and FCL. The most important skills for an import specialist are data entry, logistics, and us customs.

Ocean freight agent vs import specialist overview

	Ocean Freight Agent	Import Specialist
Yearly salary	$41,633	$51,757
Hourly rate	$20.02	$24.88
Growth rate	-	6%
Number of jobs	31,303	1,736
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	-	-

Ocean freight agent vs import specialist salary

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

	Ocean Freight Agent	Import Specialist
Average salary	$41,633	$51,757
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $63,000	Between $36,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	-	Uniondale, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	The Judge Group
Best paying industry	-	Transportation

Differences between ocean freight agent and import specialist education

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

	Ocean Freight Agent	Import Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Ocean freight agent vs import specialist demographics

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

	Ocean Freight Agent	Import Specialist
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 55.6% Female, 44.4%	Male, 33.1% Female, 66.9%
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, 4.9% Unknown, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 18.2% White, 48.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between ocean freight agent and import specialist 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.

Import specialist example responsibilities.

Work closely with government agencies, such as FDA and USDA.
Collaborate with foreign suppliers and freight forwarders on corrective action/preventive actions.
Communicate with external customers utilizing exceptional customer service to obtain missing or incomplete invoice statements require for U.S. Customs clearance.
Classify products with HS classification for NAFTA purposes.
Process special commodities such as FDA regulate articles, ADD/CVD entries.
Document the declaration sheet of Hazmat material for the current flight.

Ocean freight agent vs import specialist skills

Common ocean freight agent skills

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

Common import specialist skills

Data Entry, 12%
Logistics, 10%
US Customs, 9%
Invoice, 5%
Delivery Orders, 4%
Forwarders, 4%

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Ocean Freight Agent vs Import Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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