Occupations · Office and Administrative Support
Freight Forwarders
Research rates, routings, or modes of transport for shipment of products. Maintain awareness of regulations affecting the international movement of cargo. Make arrangements for additional services, such as storage or inland transportation.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 43-5011.01
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Negotiate shipping rates with freight carriers.
- Arrange for special transport of sensitive cargoes, such as livestock, food, or medical supplies.
- Inform clients of factors such as shipping options, timelines, transfers, or regulations affecting shipments.
- Arrange for applicable duties, taxes, or paperwork for customs clearance.
- Prepare shipping documentation, such as bills of lading, packing lists, dock receipts, or certificates of origin.
- Complete customs paperwork.
- Recommend or arrange appropriate merchandise packing methods, according to climate, terrain, weight, nature of goods, or costs.
- Refer exporters to experts in areas such as trade financing, international marketing, government export requirements, international banking, or marine insurance.
- Prepare invoices or cost quotations for freight transportation.
- Select shipment routes, based on nature of goods shipped, transit times, or security needs.
- Calculate weight, volume, or cost of goods to be moved.
- Arrange delivery or storage of goods at destinations.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What your tools are worth
Occupation-based, not posting-based: how much employment, pay and projected growth sit behind each tool. It is not a count of job ads.
| Tool | Value | Spread across occupations |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft PowerPoint | 69 | 400 → 629 occupations since 2015 |
| Microsoft Outlook | 68 | 348 → 642 occupations since 2015 |
| SAP software | 68 | 119 → 283 occupations since 2015 |
What your tools are worth
LockedThe same score for every tool in this occupation, plus the ones you ticked and the ones you did not.
Open in your report →What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2024-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2024-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 3
No longer listed 1
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| freight transport dispatcher | 4323.6 | exact |
| forwarding manager | 3331.2 | close |
| international forwarding operations coordinator | 3331.3 | broader |
| rail logistics coordinator | 4323.12 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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