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Forwarding manager

Also called export manager, forwarding supervisor, logistics line manager

Forwarding managers plan and organise cargo shipments within national and international areas. They communicate with carriers and negotiate the best way to send the cargo to its destination which can be a single customer or a point of distribution. Forwarding managers act as experts in supply chain management. They know and apply the rules and regulations for each specific type of cargo and communicate the conditions and costs to the clients.

Will there be jobs?Average prospects25 jobs to fill by 2035 for every 100 people doing this work today.Business and administration associate professionalsWhat does it pay?About averageFrom about €1,600 (Bulgaria) to €6,300 (Denmark) a month, depending on the country.Estimate · Business and administration associate professionalsWhat do I need to study?Usually post-secondary or a short degree5 in 10 have a degree.Business and administration associate professionalsWill AI change it?SignificantlyLevel 5 of 6. AI could take on part of most tasks, but none fully.Clearing and forwarding aents · ILO

What you'd do

Clearing and forwarding aents · ILO
  • Carrying out customs clearing procedures for exports or imports
  • Ensuring that insurance is in order
  • Ensuring that export/import licences and other formalities are in order
  • Signing and issuing bills of lading
  • Checking import/export documentation to determine cargo contents, and classifying goods into different fee or tariff groups, using a tariff coding system
Communicate with shipment forwardersPlan transport operationsCoordinate import transportation activitiesAssess carriersFoster relationships with various types of carrier+ 18 more essential skills
What the work is like
  • Indoors
  • Sitting most of the day
  • Constant contact with people, including the public
  • Some freedom to decide
  • Often more than 40 hours a week
  • Deadlines every day
  • Very repetitive tasks
US data: based on the O*NET profile of the similar US job "Freight Forwarders"

Will there be jobs?

Average prospects

A typical number of jobs will need filling by 2035.

People working as business and administration associate professionals in the EU
13.29m14.1m14.28m 201520232035

Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.

Jobs to fill, 2026–2035
55,000 new jobs 3,460,000 replacing leavers
Jobs to fill per 100 people working now
Business and administration associate professionals25
All jobs29
Right now
5 of 27 countries report a shortage of clearing and forwarding aents, 4 a surplus.
Clearing and forwarding aents · EURES

What does it pay?

About average

Pay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,600 a month (Bulgaria) to €6,300 (Denmark), before tax.

Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.

Among technicians and associate professionals in the EU, women earn 16% less per hour than men. Technicians and associate professionals · Eurostat

What do I need to study?

Usually post-secondary or a short degree

Post-secondary training or a short degree in law is the usual route.

Highest qualification of business and administration associate professionals (EU, 2025)
Degree 51%Vocational 31%General secondary 13%Basic schooling 6%
Field that teaches it
Law
Vocational route, EU
Fewer than 1 in 10 trainees in this field
Business and law graduates in a matching job
66% in the EU

1,314 institutions in the EU offer business and law bachelor's degrees. Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.

Will AI change it?

Significantly

AI could take on part of most tasks, but none fully.

How exposed is this job? ILO scale
Very low
Low
Some tasks
Moderate
Significant
High

Average task score 0.57 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).

See the score for each of the 5 tasks
Ensuring that insurance is in order0.64
Checking import/export documentation to determine cargo contents, and classifying goods into different fee or tariff groups, using a tariff coding system0.63
Ensuring that export/import licences and other formalities are in order0.61
Signing and issuing bills of lading0.55
Carrying out customs clearing procedures for exports or imports0.42

Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for clearing and forwarding aents. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).