forwarding 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.
forwarding 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. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include supply chain management, manage freight payment methods, non vessel operating common carrier regulations, oversee shipment routing, implement short term objectives.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £34,757 a year for Importers and exporters (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 3542). ONS publishes this estimate without a precision measure. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Technicians and associate professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only forwarding manager, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 3. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Frequently asked questions
What does forwarding manager do?
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.
What skills does forwarding manager need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include supply chain management, manage freight payment methods, non vessel operating common carrier regulations, oversee shipment routing, implement short term objectives, prepare bills of lading. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace forwarding manager?
Our AI-durability model gives forwarding manager a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.