How to become a cargo and freight agent
Official title: Cargo and freight agent
Also called: Import coordinator, Export coordinator, Customs broker, Cargo agent
Cargo and freight agents manage customer orders and arrange delivery of freight to and from transportation hubs and shipping terminals.
Main tasks
- Arrange delivery of freight
- Track shipments
- Plan the best delivery routes
- Calculate shipping costs
- Recommend how to package goods
- Arrange insurance for valuable shipments
- Record shipping and delivery information
- Negotiate shipping and delivery prices
How to become one
You usually learn on the job to become a cargo and freight agent and a qualification may be useful. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job, but NCEA Level 3 may be useful. Other requirements: a relevant tertiary qualification in management and commerce studies or similar area; experience in similar work; to complete training through the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation of New Zealand; a Unique User Identifier (UUI) Customs number from New Zealand Customs.
Ways in
- Certificates and diplomas: Advanced certificates and diplomas in e-commerce. TEC links this job to study in other management and commerce studies. Qualifications: Dip in Digital Marketing (Applied). Usually 1 year.
Pay · Past change
- Most common pay: $65,000 to $90,000 a year (median $76,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $54,000 a year · Upper: $116,000 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Decrease (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
Who does this work
- About 820 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
How do I become a cargo and freight agent?
You usually learn on the job to become a cargo and freight agent and a qualification may be useful. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job, but NCEA Level 3 may be useful. Other requirements: a relevant tertiary qualification in management and commerce studies or similar area; experience in similar work; to complete training through the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation of New Zealand; a Unique User Identifier (UUI) Customs number from New Zealand Customs.
How much does a cargo and freight agent earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $76,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $65,000 to $90,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as a cargo and freight agent grown in New Zealand?
It has shrunk: TEC records a decrease in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine 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.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026