Cargo and Freight Agents
In short: today's best AI models could do about 50% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 50% of the time, stays with people.
Expedite and route movement of incoming and outgoing cargo and freight shipments in airline, train, and trucking terminals and shipping docks. Take orders from customers and arrange pickup of freight and cargo for delivery to loading platform. Prepare and examine bills of lading to determine shipping charges and tariffs.
97,670 people do this job in the US. $52,260 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on4 h
- A person checks AI's work16 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people20 h
Cargo and Freight Agents, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 4 hours, 16 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 20 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Prepare bills of lading (about 4 h, a person checks); Track shipments (about 3 h); Classify goods for tariffs (about 3 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 16%
- 34%
- 24%
- 7%
- 19%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 50% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 3%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 47%. Today's estimate: 50%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 24 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0079% to 0.0038% (released February and March 2025); 0.0067% to 0.0053% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0079% | 556 of 708 | 2 of 24 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0038% | 607 of 703 | 1 of 24 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0067% | 503 of 655 | 2 of 24 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0058% | 558 of 672 | 2 of 24 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0053% | 566 of 677 | 2 of 24 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 24 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 24 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 23% of this job's working time as physical work. For 21% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 15% in a purpose-built cell, 6% in a structured facility. 0.28 of 3, the 393rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 78%
- No robot shown 1%
- In a purpose-built cell 15%
- In a structured facility 6%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
50% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Arrange transport with carriers, the conversation, 12%
- Advise clients on transport and payment, the conversation, 10%
- Brace and pad loads, the hands-on work, 5%
- Notify customers of arrivals, the conversation, 4%
- Route received goods, the hands-on work, 3%
- Direct cargo loading, the hands-on work, 3%
What becomes checking the machine
41% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 9% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Prepare bills of lading, costly if wrong, 10%
- Classify goods for tariffs, costly if wrong, 6%
- Keep shipping records, costly if wrong, 6%
- Estimate rates and record costs, costly if wrong, 5%
- Arrange transport with carriers, costly if wrong, 5%
- Arrange insurance for goods, costly if wrong, 2%
What to learn
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Running AI inside the business systems. About 34% of the time is work inside business systems, which a model can do only once it is connected: knowing the systems well enough to set that up and watch it.
- The conversations. About 31% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
- The hands-on craft. About 19% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 24 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negotiate and arrange transport of goods with shipping or freight companies.Calls with shipping and freight companies, with the bookings.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 17% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Conversation 70%, systems 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Advise clients on transportation and payment methods.Advice by phone and at the counter.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Conversation 60%, in person 40% | Stays with people |
| Determine method of shipment and prepare bills of lading, invoices, and other shipping documents.Shipment method chosen and documents prepared.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 10% | 42 min17 min to 1.3 h | Documents 50%, systems 50% | 100%Half by now |
| Track delivery progress of shipments.Progress followed in the system.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 17 min4 min to 38 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Check import or export documentation to determine cargo contents and use tariff coding system to classify goods according to fee or tariff group.Documentation read and goods coded.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 29 min13 min to 1.3 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Keep records of all goods shipped, received, and stored.Goods shipped, received and stored recorded.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Estimate freight or postal rates and record shipment costs and weights.Rates worked out and costs and weights recorded.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Systems 60%, documents 40% | 100%Half by now |
| Notify consignees, passengers, or customers of freight or baggage arrival and arrange for delivery.Calls to consignees and customers, with delivery arranged in the system.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Conversation 70%, systems 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Install straps, braces, and padding to loads to prevent shifting or damage during shipment.Straps, braces and padding fitted.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Retrieve stored items and trace lost shipments as necessary.Stored items fetched and lost shipments traced in the systems.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Cleveron 402 robotic parcel locker (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 50 min13 min to 3.3 h | Systems 50%, hands-on 50% | 49%Desk part half by now |
| Route received goods to first available flight or to appropriate storage areas or departments, using forklifts, hand trucks, or other equipment.Goods moved to flights or storage with forklifts or hand trucks.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a structured facility, TWA Reach / TWA Extended Reach with Shared Autonomy Platform (Third Wave Automation) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Contact vendors or claims adjustment departments to resolve shipment problems or contact service depots to arrange for repairs.Calls to vendors, claims and depots, with the record.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 33 min13 min to 1.7 h | Conversation 80%, systems 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Cargo and Freight Agents is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 50% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 50% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Cargo and Freight Agents come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Prepare bills of lading (100% of the task's time now); Track shipments (100% of the task's time now); and Classify goods for tariffs (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Cargo and Freight Agents stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Advise clients on transport and payment; Brace and pad loads; and Route received goods. Together such tasks are about 26% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Cargo and Freight Agents learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; running AI inside the business systems; and the conversations. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 50% of the working time stays with people, 41% becomes checking a model's work and 9% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Cargo and Freight Agents?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 2%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Cargo and Freight Agents?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 22% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 21% of the working time, 6% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.28 of 3. One example: TWA Reach / TWA Extended Reach with Shared Autonomy Platform for "route received goods". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 24 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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