Will AI replace Cargo and Freight Agents?
Estimated risk score: 60 out of 100
Moderate replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (41 to 79).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 24 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 43-5011.00 · Office and Administrative Support
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 10 of its 24 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Determine method of shipment and prepare bills of lading, invoices, and other shipping documents.
- Enter shipping information into a computer by hand or by a hand-held scanner that reads bar codes on goods.
- Estimate freight or postal rates and record shipment costs and weights.
- Check import or export documentation to determine cargo contents and use tariff coding system to classify goods according to fee or tariff group.
- Prepare manifests showing numbers of airplane passengers and baggage, mail, and freight weights, transmitting data to destinations.
- Keep records of all goods shipped, received, and stored.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 10 of its 24 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Assemble containers and crates used to transport items, such as machines or vehicles.
- Attach address labels, identification codes, and shipping instructions to containers.
- Direct delivery trucks to shipping doors or designated marshaling areas and help load and unload goods safely.
- Direct or participate in cargo loading to ensure completeness of load and even distribution of weight.
- Install straps, braces, and padding to loads to prevent shifting or damage during shipment.
- Maintain a supply of packing materials.
What the job is
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.
Also called: Drop Shipment Clerk, Air Export Specialist, Logistics Service Representative, Route Agent, Ship Broker, Cargo Router, Freight Agent, Freight Booker.
Closest jobs we score by hand
In the same field (Office and Administrative Support). Different jobs, each scored by a person.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate