At a freight forwarder, broker, or carrier dispatch desk, you build the routing plans for committed freight — picking carriers, modes, and lane combinations that meet the shipment's service and cost requirements.
Most days involve routing decisions across the queue of shipments — analyzing each load's constraints (timing, weight, dimensions, value, restrictions), matching to available carrier capacity, building routing plans, and handing off to dispatch or operations. Cost per shipment, on-time performance, and routing-decision quality shape the visible measures.
The harder part is often the optimization-versus-availability tension — theoretically optimal routes often aren't available in the real carrier market, and routers apply practical judgment about what's achievable. Variance across employers is real: large carriers run routing through automated systems with router oversight; smaller operations rely more heavily on router judgment.
The role tends to fit folks who enjoy spatial puzzles, carry comfort with the carrier network, and have patience with data-quality issues that transportation systems carry. CSCMP and CTL credentials anchor advancement. The trade-off is the cycle-time pressure of routing work as shipments age and the constant balancing of cost against service.
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View all Admin & Office roles →At a freight forwarder, broker, or carrier dispatch desk, you build the routing plans for committed freight — picking carriers, modes, and lane combinations that meet the shipment's service and cost requirements.
Median pay for a Freight Router is about $50K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $37K to $76K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Reading Comprehension, Coordination, Speaking, Active Listening, and Monitoring.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 8.5% through 2034, with roughly 195,600 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Export Clerk, Freight Broker, and Shipping Coordinator.
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