Office and Administrative Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 43-5011

Cargo and Freight Agents

O*NET task statements lead this Cargo and Freight Agents card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers, Proofreaders and Copy Markers, Financial Clerks, All Other, Desktop Publishers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Cargo and Freight Agents: First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers ($70K) , Proofreaders and Copy Markers ($51K) , Financial Clerks, All Other ($54K) , Desktop Publishers ($55K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Cargo and Freight Agents publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 43-5011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Negotiate and arrange transport of goods with shipping or freight companies
  2. 2. Determine method of shipment and prepare bills of lading, invoices, and other shipping documents
  3. 3. Track delivery progress of shipments
  4. 4. Prepare manifests showing numbers of airplane passengers and baggage, mail, and freight weights, transmitting data to destinations
  5. 5. Advise clients on transportation and payment methods
  6. 6. Arrange insurance coverage for goods
  7. 7. Estimate freight or postal rates and record shipment costs and weights
  8. 8. Install straps, braces, and padding to loads to prevent shifting or damage during shipment
  9. 9. Keep records of all goods shipped, received, and stored
  10. 10. Notify consignees, passengers, or customers of freight or baggage arrival and arrange for delivery
  11. 11. Check import or export documentation to determine cargo contents and use tariff coding system to classify goods according to fee or tarif…
  12. 12. Coordinate and supervise activities of workers engaged in packing and shipping merchandise

Cargo and Freight Agents: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 43-5011 - lead skill Speaking at 3.6 ; lead knowledge Transportation. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 3.6
  2. 2. Active Listening 3.5
  3. 3. Reading Comprehension 3.3
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 3.3
  5. 5. Negotiation 3.1
  6. 6. Time Management 3.1
  7. 7. Writing 3.0
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Transportation 4.6
  2. 2. Geography 4.5
  3. 3. Public Safety and Security 4.0
  4. 4. English Language 3.9
  5. 5. Administration and Management 3.9
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.5
National median after O*NET task lead
$52,260
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Negotiate and arrange transport of goods with shipping or freight companies
$52K
National median
↑ +9%
Growth 2024-2034
8,800
Annual openings
97,670
Estimated US jobs
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
Highest-pay peer · $70K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Cargo and Freight Agents

1. District of Columbia $76,250
2. Washington $60,760
3. Rhode Island $60,310
4. New Hampshire $67,660
5. Montana $59,240
6. New York $60,040
7. Nebraska $62,500
8. New Jersey $60,210
9. South Dakota $64,340
10. Illinois $59,750

Other Office and Administrative Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. Financial Clerks, All Other $53,830
  2. 2. First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers $69,500
  3. 3. Desktop Publishers $55,290
  4. 4. Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants $55,570
  5. 5. Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks $59,650
  6. 6. Proofreaders and Copy Markers $51,120

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Cargo and Freight Agents (SOC 43-5011). The national OEWS median is $52,260 inside Office and Administrative Support Occupations. Same-group neighbors: First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers, Proofreaders and Copy Markers, Financial Clerks, All Other, Desktop Publishers. Lead published task: Negotiate and arrange transport of goods with shipping or freight companies.

Employment Projections expect +9% change between 2024 and 2034 (much faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 8,800 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: District of Columbia at $76,250. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers at $69,500. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Cargo and Freight Agents pay-rank #15 in Office and Administrative Support Occupations

Among 54 detailed Office and Administrative Support Occupations with a published OEWS median, Cargo and Freight Agents is pay-rank #15, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 43-5011 · national median $52,260 · upper third of Office and Administrative Support Occupations (#15/54). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Cargo and Freight Agents salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 43-5011

District of Columbia · top state for Cargo and Freight Agents

$76K published median

Washington · #2 state pay

$61K · behind District of Columbia

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

Highest-pay peer vs Cargo and Freight Agents · $70K

Proofreaders and Copy Markers

Lower-pay peer beside Cargo and Freight Agents · $51K

Compare Cargo and Freight Agents

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Cargo and Freight Agents with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Cargo and Freight Agents full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Office and Administrative Support Occupations titles sit near Cargo and Freight Agents at the top of the pay table? ▼
Cargo and Freight Agents is pay-rank #15 of 54 detailed Office and Administrative Support Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Public Safety Telecommunicators ($53K), Proofreaders and Copy Markers ($51K), Financial Clerks, All Other ($54K), Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks ($51K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do cargo and freight agents do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Cargo and Freight Agents. Leading ones include: Negotiate and arrange transport of goods with shipping or freight companies; Determine method of shipment and prepare bills of lading, invoices, and other shipping documents; Track delivery progress of shipments; Prepare manifests showing numbers of airplane passengers and baggage, mail, and freight weights, transmitting data to destinations. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for cargo and freight agents? ▼
For SOC 43-5011, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (3.6), Active Listening (3.5), Reading Comprehension (3.3), Critical Thinking (3.3). Knowledge areas emphasize Transportation, Geography, Public Safety and Security. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Cargo and Freight Agents? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $52,260 as the national median for Cargo and Freight Agents. The published 10th-90th range is $38,340 to $79,810. Beside First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers ($69,500), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Cargo and Freight Agents? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Cargo and Freight Agents is +9%. Projected annual openings: about 8,800. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Cargo and Freight Agents? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Cargo and Freight Agents. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Cargo and Freight Agents? ▼
District of Columbia ($76,250), Washington ($60,760), Rhode Island ($60,310) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Cargo and Freight Agents card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 43-5011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Cargo and Freight Agents. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics