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Shipping vs freight forwarder

The differences between shippings 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 $31,192 average annual salary of a shipping.

The top three skills for a shipping include customer service, pallets and electric pallet jack. The most important skills for a freight forwarder are supply chain, customer service, and booking.

Shipping vs freight forwarder overview

ShippingFreight Forwarder
Yearly salary$31,192$38,215
Hourly rate$15.00$18.37
Growth rate-3%-3%
Number of jobs165,5496,961
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age4343
Years of experience12-

Shipping vs freight forwarder salary

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

ShippingFreight Forwarder
Average salary$31,192$38,215
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $38,000Between $27,000 And $54,000
Highest paying CityBeaverton, OR-
Highest paying stateWashington-
Best paying companySanderson Farms-
Best paying industryFinance-

Differences between shipping and freight forwarder education

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

ShippingFreight Forwarder
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Shipping vs freight forwarder demographics

Here are the differences between shippings' and freight forwarders' demographics:

ShippingFreight Forwarder
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 73.7% Female, 26.3%Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 7.3% White, 55.6% 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 Percentage6%11%

Differences between shipping and freight forwarder duties and responsibilities

Shipping example responsibilities.

  • Pull orders for customers and ship via grind, LTL and company vehicles.
  • Communicate with LTL carriers ob a daily basis for pickups or any problems.
  • Communicate with UPS/ FedEx/ DHL staff via phone and email to resolve delivery issues.
  • Prepare and packages assets for shipment via FedEx, DHL, or delivery to local customer.
  • Perform final packaging of finish products and fill pallets for shipping
  • Supervise all supply-chain management operations, including forecasting, sourcing, procurement, pricing, conversion, distribution and logistics.
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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
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Shipping vs freight forwarder skills

Common shipping skills
  • Customer Service, 15%
  • Pallets, 14%
  • Electric Pallet Jack, 9%
  • Shipping Receiving, 8%
  • Load Trucks, 6%
  • Hand Trucks, 6%
Common freight forwarder skills
  • Supply Chain, 23%
  • Customer Service, 18%
  • Booking, 14%
  • Import Export, 8%
  • Delivery Orders, 6%
  • AES, 6%

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