Importers and exporters
Importers and exporters buy commodities from overseas for the home market and sell home-produced commodities to overseas markets.
- Employees (UK)
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- Median annual pay
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- Exposure score ?
- 2.3/10 Low 7.7/10 High strict reading, with tools is 7.7/10 with-tools reading, strict is 2.3/10
- Wage exposure
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Higher exposure than 85% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
A few tasks in this role are within reach of AI, mostly paperwork, scheduling and routine writing. The shape of the role stays the same, and some parts get faster.
If you are in this role
Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try a model on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT already does with admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the gain.
Most of the routine work in this role can already be done by a capable model. The role does not disappear, but its shape changes, and one person can credibly cover the work of several.
If you are in this role
Stop spending time on what a model can do well. Your value is judgement, relationships and the parts of the work that need you in the room. Redesign the workflow around that before someone else does it for you.
Where the work usually starts.
These are the most important tasks a language model can already handle directly. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around them, so they stop eating the team's time.
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Prepare shipping documentation, such as bills of lading, packing lists, dock receipts, or certificates of origin.
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Complete customs paperwork.
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Prepare invoices or cost quotations for freight transportation.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Negotiate shipping rates with freight carriers.
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Arrange for special transport of sensitive cargoes, such as livestock, food, or medical supplies.
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Arrange for applicable duties, taxes, or paperwork for customs clearance.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Freight Forwarders" (43-5011.01).
What AI can already do
5 of 31 tasks, unaided
Prepare shipping documentation, such as bills of lading, packing lists, dock receipts, or certificates of origin.
Complete customs paperwork.
Prepare invoices or cost quotations for freight transportation.
Calculate weight, volume, or cost of goods to be moved.
Keep records of goods dispatched or received.
What still needs a person
26 of 31 tasks
Negotiate shipping rates with freight carriers.
Arrange for special transport of sensitive cargoes, such as livestock, food, or medical supplies.
Arrange for applicable duties, taxes, or paperwork for customs clearance.
Inform clients of factors such as shipping options, timelines, transfers, or regulations affecting shipments.
Recommend or arrange appropriate merchandise packing methods, according to climate, terrain, weight, nature of goods, or costs.
Refer exporters to experts in areas such as trade financing, international marketing, government export requirements, international banking, or marine insurance.
Select shipment routes, based on nature of goods shipped, transit times, or security needs.
Arrange delivery or storage of goods at destinations.
Make arrangements with customs brokers to facilitate the passage of goods through customs.
Arrange for transport, using a variety of modes, such as rail, short sea shipping, air, or roadways, to minimize carbon emissions or other environmental impacts.
Recommend shipping solutions to minimize cost or environmental impacts.
Determine efficient and cost-effective methods of moving goods from one location to another.
Pay or arrange for payment of freight or insurance fees or other charges.
Monitor or record locations of goods in transit.
Reserve necessary space on ships, aircraft, trains, or trucks.
Obtain or arrange cargo insurance.
Review the environmental records of freight carriers to inform shipping decisions.
Analyze shipping routes to determine how to minimize environmental impact.
Consolidate loads with a common destination to reduce costs to individual shippers.
Provide detailed port information to importers or exporters.
Provide shipment status notification to exporters, consignees, or insurers.
Consider environmental sustainability factors when determining merchandise packing methods.
Verify proper packaging and labeling of exported goods.
Verify adherence of documentation to customs, insurance, or regulatory requirements.
Maintain current knowledge of relevant legislation, political situations, or other factors that could affect freight shipping.
Assist clients in obtaining insurance reimbursements.
Tasks via O*NET "Freight Forwarders" (43-5011.01).
What AI can already do
31 of 31 tasks, with tools
Negotiate shipping rates with freight carriers.
Arrange for special transport of sensitive cargoes, such as livestock, food, or medical supplies.
Arrange for applicable duties, taxes, or paperwork for customs clearance.
Inform clients of factors such as shipping options, timelines, transfers, or regulations affecting shipments.
Prepare shipping documentation, such as bills of lading, packing lists, dock receipts, or certificates of origin.
Complete customs paperwork.
Recommend or arrange appropriate merchandise packing methods, according to climate, terrain, weight, nature of goods, or costs.
Refer exporters to experts in areas such as trade financing, international marketing, government export requirements, international banking, or marine insurance.
Prepare invoices or cost quotations for freight transportation.
Select shipment routes, based on nature of goods shipped, transit times, or security needs.
Calculate weight, volume, or cost of goods to be moved.
Arrange delivery or storage of goods at destinations.
Make arrangements with customs brokers to facilitate the passage of goods through customs.
Arrange for transport, using a variety of modes, such as rail, short sea shipping, air, or roadways, to minimize carbon emissions or other environmental impacts.
Recommend shipping solutions to minimize cost or environmental impacts.
Determine efficient and cost-effective methods of moving goods from one location to another.
Pay or arrange for payment of freight or insurance fees or other charges.
Monitor or record locations of goods in transit.
Keep records of goods dispatched or received.
Reserve necessary space on ships, aircraft, trains, or trucks.
Obtain or arrange cargo insurance.
Review the environmental records of freight carriers to inform shipping decisions.
Analyze shipping routes to determine how to minimize environmental impact.
Consolidate loads with a common destination to reduce costs to individual shippers.
Provide detailed port information to importers or exporters.
Provide shipment status notification to exporters, consignees, or insurers.
Consider environmental sustainability factors when determining merchandise packing methods.
Verify proper packaging and labeling of exported goods.
Verify adherence of documentation to customs, insurance, or regulatory requirements.
Maintain current knowledge of relevant legislation, political situations, or other factors that could affect freight shipping.
Assist clients in obtaining insurance reimbursements.
What still needs a person
0 of 31 tasks
When AI is paired with workflow tools, every task in this role is reachable. That doesn't mean the role disappears, it means almost all the routine surface area can be compressed.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Associate professional occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons