Cargo and Freight Agents
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.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 45%
- 27%
- 28%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
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, 44%. Today's estimate: 45%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 24 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negotiate and arrange transport of goods with shipping or freight companies.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 17% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Advise clients on transportation and payment methods.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Determine method of shipment and prepare bills of lading, invoices, and other shipping documents.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 10% | 42 min17 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Track delivery progress of shipments.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 17 min4 min to 38 min | 99%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.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 29 min13 min to 1.3 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Keep records of all goods shipped, received, and stored.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Estimate freight or postal rates and record shipment costs and weights.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Notify consignees, passengers, or customers of freight or baggage arrival and arrange for delivery.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Install straps, braces, and padding to loads to prevent shifting or damage during shipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Retrieve stored items and trace lost shipments as necessary.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min13 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Route received goods to first available flight or to appropriate storage areas or departments, using forklifts, hand trucks, or other equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Contact vendors or claims adjustment departments to resolve shipment problems or contact service depots to arrange for repairs.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 33 min13 min to 1.7 h | 97%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.
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).