The person who handles inbound and outbound international shipments at a freight forwarder, customs broker, or shipper — preparing documentation, coordinating carriers, managing customs clearance, and handling exceptions when things go sideways. As an Import/Export Agent, you're the operational engine of cross-border trade, often working a portfolio of regular client accounts.
A typical day tends to involve receiving shipping instructions, booking carriers and reserving capacity, preparing entry or AES filings, coordinating with truckers and warehouses, and tracking shipments through gate-out, clearance, and final delivery. You'll often work tight cutoff times for vessels and flights while juggling multiple shipments at different stages. Documentation accuracy has direct customs and clearance consequences.
Coordination involves shippers and importers, carriers, customs brokers and CBP, partner government agencies, and overseas counterparts. Time-zone overlap with international counterparts shapes communication patterns. The breadth of handling both directions distinguishes the role from pure import or pure export specialists.
People who tend to thrive here are detail-focused, comfortable with deadline pressure, and able to track many concurrent shipments. If you need quiet focused work or strategic environments, the operational rhythm can grind. If you find satisfaction in being the person who keeps cross-border cargo flowing in both directions cleanly, the role tends to feel meaningfully operational and is a strong path toward more senior trade roles.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Business Operations roles →The person who handles inbound and outbound international shipments at a freight forwarder, customs broker, or shipper — preparing documentation, coordinating carriers, managing customs clearance, and handling exceptions when things go sideways. As an Import/Export Agent, you're the operational engine of cross-border trade, often working a portfolio of regular client accounts.
Median pay for an Import/Export Agent is about $78K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $46K to $130K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, and Speaking.
Most people in this role hold a high school diploma.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 3% through 2034, with roughly 397,770 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Cargo Agent, Import Agent, and Air Export Agent.
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