It is sensible to take a look at the career growth outlook you can expect when deciding on any career path. This knowledge can help you decide on a career and it can help prepare you for changes in your chosen career. This is certainly the case when it comes to the freight agency growth outlook, as well.
In addition to helping you in your own career, knowing the growth outlook for independent freight agents can help you make hiring decisions. If the growth outlook is less than ideal at the moment, you might want to reconsider hiring employees. Here is what you should know about the growth outlook for an independent freight agent.
The Career Growth Outlook for Independent Freight Agents Is Generally Positive
There are plenty of details that you should know about when it comes to the career growth outlook for independent freight agents. However, the headline is that this career growth outlook is generally positive. The freight agent job market is projected to grow 10.4% over a period of 10 years that started in 2016 and will end in 2026. As of right now, the United States has 85,750 freight and cargo agents. The United States will require an additional 9,300 freight and cargo agents by 2026.
What Is the Demand for Freight Agents?
It is also important to discuss what kind of demand there is for freight agents. As previously stated, the United States will require 9,300 more freight and cargo agents by 2026. Therefore, the demand for freight agents in the United States overall is moderate. According to the data, 5,000 current freight and cargo agents are expected to retire by 2026. This creates opportunities for aspiring freight agents, as you might expect.
However, the demand for freight agents is highest in three US states: New York, Texas, and California. California has the highest number of employed freight and cargo agents in the United States with 13,670. Texas is number two on that list with 8,750 employed freight and cargo agents. New York comes in at third with 6,900 employed freight and cargo agents. The presence of these three states on such a list may not surprise you, since these states are large and populous.
The state of Florida has the fourth-most employed freight and cargo agents in the country with 5,260. This might be a little more surprising to you. However, Florida still has 2,782 miles of railroad tracks, as of the latest data which was gathered in 2020.
Becoming an Independent Freight Agent Requires Little Formal Education
Something that you should know if you want to become an independent freight agent is that you don’t need much formal education. In fact, you can take advantage of the new job opportunities in the freight agent job market as long as you have a high school diploma. That being said, it is easier to become a freight agent if you have transportation, shipping, and freight brokering knowledge. You can also find freight agent job opportunities more easily if you have inventory management, database, and customs software programs knowledge, as well. All that knowledge means you will be much more able to work as an independent freight agent.
More Than a Few State Universities Offer Freight Agent Training
As previously stated, you do not need much formal education to become an independent freight agent. However, freight agent training can be quite useful, so that you can take advantage of new opportunities in the freight agent job market. You can get freight agent training at a number of state universities.
State universities in Florida and Texas offer freight agent training, for example. You can take some of these training courses completely online, as well, although this differs from university to university. In any case, the freight agency’s growth outlook is positive overall and this training can help you capitalize on that.