Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Office and administrative support / 43-5011.00

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.

US jobs
97,670
Median wage
$52,260 a year
Job family
Office and administrative support

Can agents do the work of cargo and freight agents?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Office and administrative support:

  • Task levelStrongOn computer-use and office-task benchmarks, top agents pass most tasks: 90.2% on OSWorld-Verified (humans: 72.4%), 83.1% on SpreadsheetBench, and 63.3% on WorkArena L1 under the standard protocol. Limits: many top entries are self-submitted and not re-run by the maintainers, and on TheAgentCompany's multi-step workplace tasks the best agent resolves 42.9%.
  • Project levelPartialOnly adjacent evidence. OpenAI reports that GPT-5.5's GDPval deliverables won or tied against professionals' work in 84.9% of comparisons, but GDPval tasks are one-shot and fully specified. No benchmark in our collection tests multi-day administrative work, such as running a calendar or a purchasing process.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in office and administrative support, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • 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.
  • Advise clients on transportation and payment methods.
  • Estimate freight or postal rates and record shipment costs and weights.
  • Keep records of all goods shipped, received, and stored.
  • Notify consignees, passengers, or customers of freight or baggage arrival and arrange for delivery.
  • Retrieve stored items and trace lost shipments as necessary.
  • Enter shipping information into a computer by hand or by a hand-held scanner that reads bar codes on goods.
  • Prepare manifests showing numbers of airplane passengers and baggage, mail, and freight weights, transmitting data to destinations.
  • Arrange insurance coverage for goods.
  • Install straps, braces, and padding to loads to prevent shifting or damage during shipment.
Other job titles for this occupation (51)

Air Export Specialist · Drop Shipment Clerk · Freight Broker · Intermodal Dispatcher · International Coordinator · Load Planner · Logistics Coordinator · Logistics Service Representative · Ship Broker · Traffic and Documentation Clerk · Air Export Coordinator · Air Freight Coordinator · Cargo Agent · Cargo Customer Service Agent (Cargo CS Agent) · Cargo Router · Cargo Warehouse Agent · Container Coordinator · Export Compliance Specialist · Export Coordinator · Export Specialist · Freight Agent · Freight Booker · Freight Broker Agent · Freight Clerk · Freight Coordinator · Freight Forwarder · Freight Receiver · Freight Representative · Freight Router · Freight Shipping Agent · Freight Specialist · Import Coordinator · Import Customs Clearing Agent · Logistics Assistant · Logistics Clerk · Logistics Technician · Ocean Export Coordinator · Ocean Import Agent · Ocean Import Coordinator · Ocean Import Specialist · Operations Clerk · Receiver · Route Agent · Route Clerk · Shipping Agent · Shipping Coordinator · Shipping Processor · Shipping Specialist · Transportation Agent · Transportation Broker · Transportation Clerk