- The core task: negotiate and arrange transport of goods with shipping or freight companies. It heads the task list in the next section.
- Typical entry education: high school diploma or equivalent. 31% of survey respondents say a new hire needs a bachelor’s degree.
- Related work experience at entry: none. On-the-job training: short-term on-the-job training.
- One certification applies: CLTD. CLTD is from Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM).
- Median pay for cargo and freight agents: $52,260. The 10th to 90th percentiles run $38,340 to $79,810.
- Projected change through 2035: 6.2%. Annual openings: about 9,000.
A logistics coordinator handles the shipments themselves. O*NET files the title under cargo and freight agents, and that occupation’s task list is the job in outline: arranging transport with shipping or freight companies, deciding how a shipment moves, preparing bills of lading, invoices and other documents, tracking delivery, and recording costs and weights.
The title is used loosely, and BLS uses it twice. O*NET puts it with cargo and freight agents, while BLS’s employment projections list logistics coordinator among the titles counted as logisticians. In practice the work decides which one a job is: booking and tracking shipments points to cargo and freight agents, planning and analyzing the flow of goods to logisticians, the role a coordinator often moves into next.
The tasks O*NET rates most important for cargo and freight agents:
- 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.
Job titles in the same O*NET occupation: Air Export Specialist, Drop Shipment Clerk, Freight Broker, Intermodal Dispatcher, International Coordinator, Load Planner, Logistics Coordinator, Logistics Service Representative, Ship Broker and Traffic and Documentation Clerk. Source: O*NET
OnLine, 43-5011.00, read 2026-09-23.
O*NET’s task list for cargo and freight agents, the occupation that lists logistics coordinator among its titles, is a day of shipments: negotiating and arranging transport with shipping or freight companies, choosing the method of shipment, and preparing the bills of lading, invoices and other documents that go with it.
Once a shipment is moving, the coordinator follows it. O*NET’s tasks include tracking delivery progress, advising the people who own the goods on transportation and payment methods, estimating rates and recording costs and weights, and keeping records of everything shipped, received and stored.
Where the job sits changes the day. A coordinator at a freight-arranging firm works for many shippers; one in a company’s own offices or warehouse works for one, alongside its purchasing, sales and warehouse staff. The salary page sets the pay in each kind of employer side by side.
Main Responsibilities
- Arrange transport of goods with carriers and freight companies
- Choose the method of shipment
- Prepare bills of lading, invoices and other shipping documents
- Track shipments to delivery
- Estimate freight rates and record costs and weights
- Keep records of goods shipped, received and stored
Who They Work With
Carriers and freight companies on one side; on the other, the shipper’s own staff in purchasing, sales and the warehouse, or the clients of the firm the coordinator works for.
Where And When They Work
Office work tied to the shipping dock. In the OEWS data, freight transportation arrangement employs the largest share of cargo and freight agents, and the rest are spread across company offices, wholesalers, warehousing, trucking and couriers.
Sources: O*NET OnLine, 43-5011.00, tasks. Read 2026-09-23.
BLS publishes no wage for logistics coordinators by title. O*NET lists the title under cargo and freight agents, the occupation behind our freight broker pages, so the occupation-wide figures here are shared with them; BLS’s projections data lists the same title among logisticians, which this guide explains. The management of companies figure below is this page’s own.
That is the same figure our freight broker career page shows, because it is the same occupation in BLS data.
Among cargo and freight agents working in management of companies and enterprises, the corporate and regional offices that employ cargo and freight agents outside the freight-arranging firms, the median is
$53,320 a year across 2,420 jobs, with the 10th to 90th percentile running
$46,040 to $87,050.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific
estimates. The figure is for cargo and freight agents working in that
industry, not for the job title alone. Read 2026-09-23.
Across all industries, the median for cargo and freight agents is $52,260 a year. The middle half
earns $45,710 to $63,390, and the full range runs from $38,340 at the 10th percentile to $79,810 at the 90th, across
97,670 jobs. The freight broker salary page breaks that down by state, metro area,
industry and employer type.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, national. Read 2026-09-23.
BLS lists a high school diploma as the typical entry education for cargo and freight agents, with short-term on-the-job training and no work experience. O*NET’s respondents were split between a bachelor’s degree, some college and a postsecondary certificate, with the bachelor’s the most common answer. A bachelor’s in supply chain management or logistics is the degree that leads from coordinating shipments to planning them.
What BLS Says Entry Takes
Typical entry requirements for Cargo and Freight Agents, BLS Employment Projections | Typical entry education | High school diploma or equivalent |
|---|
| Related work experience | None |
|---|
| On-the-job training | Short-term on-the-job training |
|---|
BLS lists a high school diploma and short-term on-the-job training as typical for entry into cargo and freight agents, with no prior work experience. O*NET’s respondents most often named a bachelor’s degree.
Majors
Supply chain management and logistics, the fields that cover transportation modes, shipping documents and freight rates; business is the broader alternative.
Degree Levels That Lead In
What O*NET's respondents in the occupation said a new hire needs:
Education a new hire needs, O*NET 43-5011.00, top three answers | Education Level | Share Of Respondents |
|---|
| Bachelor’s degree | 31% |
|---|
| Some college, no degree | 19% |
|---|
| Post-secondary certificate | 18% |
|---|
Sources: BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 (entry
requirements); O*NET OnLine, 43-5011.00, education section, top three
answers. The O*NET figures are survey responses from workers in the occupation, not a legal requirement.
CLTD is ASCM’s logistics credential, and ASCM sets no education or experience requirement to sit it, so it is open to coordinators early in the job.
Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM)
CLTD: Certified in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution
Logistics specifically: logistics strategy, demand and capacity, customer and order management, warehouse and fulfillment center management, inventory, transportation, global logistics, reverse logistics and risk, and network design.
- Who It Is For
- People whose work is the movement and storage of goods: transportation, warehousing and fulfillment, order management and logistics network design, where the make, deliver and return steps of the supply chain meet.
- Eligibility
- None. ASCM sets no education or experience requirement; anyone can buy an authorization to test.
- Exam
- One exam of 150 questions (130 scored, 20 unscored pretest) in 3.5 hours, scored from 200 to 350, with 300 or more passing. It is taken at a Pearson VUE center or online. The content runs across nine modules.
- Cost
- ASCM lists the exam at $1,100 for members with its certification upgrade and $1,530 for everyone else.
- Renewal
- Stays valid while you earn 75 professional development points every five years. Holders aged 62 or older can convert a current certification to a lifetime designation, which ends the five-year maintenance cycle.
Source: ASCM, CLTD page, exam details, FAQs and exam handbook, read 2026-09-23.
ASCM membership is optional, though members pay less. You buy an authorization to test, which expires six months after purchase (12 months when bought in a bundle), and ASCM recommends about 100 hours of study per exam. A candidate who fails must wait 14 full days before retaking the same exam.
Sources: titles from
O*NET OnLine.
- Freight Broker. The same O*NET occupation; a broker arranges the same shipments as a business, between shippers and carriers.
- Logistician. BLS’s projections list logistics coordinator among logisticians’ titles; it is the planning role a coordinator moves into.
- Freight Forwarder. The same occupation for international shipments and their export documents.
The qualities the Handbook names as important for cargo and freight agents:
- Organization. Many shipments, documents and deadlines are open at once.
- Attention to detail. A wrong weight or document holds up a load.
- Communication. Carriers, shippers and warehouse staff all need the same information.
- Problem-solving. Rebooking and rerouting when a shipment goes wrong.
O*NET lists the software the occupation uses and flags the technologies employers name most often in their job postings. For
cargo and freight agents, the ones it marks as in demand are Microsoft Office software and Microsoft Excel.
Source: O*NET OnLine, 43-5011.00, Software Skills. "In demand" and "hot" are
O*NET's own flags, based on how often employers name the technology in job postings. Read 2026-09-23.
BLS projects employment of cargo and freight agents to grow 6.2% over 2025 to 2035,
from 100,300 to 106,400 jobs. That is faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations.
BLS expects about 9,000 openings a year. Of those, 3,700 (41%)
replace people leaving the labor force, 4,700 (52%) replace people
moving to other occupations, and 600 (7%) are new jobs. The
freight broker salary page sets out what BLS says is driving demand.
Sources: BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35;
EP Table 1.10. New jobs is total openings minus
separations. Read 2026-09-23.
What Degree Do You Need To Be A Logistics Coordinator?
BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry education for cargo and freight agents. In O*NET's survey of the occupation, 31% of respondents said a new hire needs a bachelor’s degree, and 19% said some college, no degree.
How Long Does It Take To Become A Logistics Coordinator?
BLS lists no related work experience as typical for entry, so the degree is the main time cost, followed by short-term on-the-job training.
How Much Does A Logistics Coordinator Make?
BLS publishes no wage for logistics coordinators by title. O*NET lists the title under cargo and freight agents, the occupation behind our freight broker pages, so the occupation-wide figures here are shared with them; BLS’s projections data lists the same title among logisticians, which this guide explains. The management of companies figure below is this page’s own. The median for cargo and freight agents is $52,260 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with the 10th to 90th percentile running $38,340 to $79,810.
Is Logistics Coordinator A Good Career?
On the federal numbers: a median of $52,260, and BLS projects the occupation to grow 6.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 9,000 openings a year.
Do You Need A Degree To Be A Logistics Coordinator?
Not always. BLS lists a high school diploma as typical for entry into cargo and freight agents, the occupation O*NET files the title under, and the job is learned on the job. O*NET’s respondents most often named a bachelor’s degree, and it is the route into logistician and planning roles.
Is A Logistics Coordinator The Same As A Logistician?
Not quite, though BLS counts the title both ways: O*NET puts it with cargo and freight agents, and BLS’s projections list it among logisticians. Coordinating usually means moving individual shipments; a logistician plans and analyzes the flow of goods as a whole.
What Is The Difference Between A Logistics Coordinator And A Freight Broker?
Both arrange shipments and sit in the same O*NET occupation. A broker does it as a business between shippers and carriers, under federal broker authority for truck freight; a coordinator usually does it as an employee, often for one company’s own goods.
The field this job sits in, and why its titles land in two BLS occupations.
Pay for cargo and freight agents by state, metro area and industry.
Matches shippers with carriers: finds the truck, negotiates the rate, arranges the load and tracks it to delivery.
Moves international shipments: books ocean and air space, prepares export and customs documents, and arranges duties.
