Transportation
Freight Coordinator II
Last updated
Freight Coordinator II is a mid-level freight coordination role responsible for managing more complex shipments, supporting junior coordinators, and handling escalations. These professionals bring established carrier knowledge, TMS proficiency, and cross-functional coordination experience to handle international freight, specialized equipment, and high-priority shipments that exceed the scope of entry-level coordinators.
Role at a glance
- Typical education
- Associate or bachelor's degree in logistics, supply chain, or business, or equivalent experience
- Typical experience
- 2-5 years
- Key certifications
- None typically required
- Top employer types
- 3PLs, manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, fulfillment operations
- Growth outlook
- Stable demand driven by increasing supply chain complexity and e-commerce growth
- AI impact (through 2030)
- Augmentation — TMS automation reduces routine administrative tasks, but increases the demand for skilled coordinators to manage the resulting rise in complex shipment exceptions.
Duties and responsibilities
- Coordinate complex and high-priority shipments including time-definite deliveries, temperature-controlled freight, and oversize loads
- Manage international freight shipments including export documentation, customs coordination, and freight forwarder communication
- Serve as a resource and informal mentor for Freight Coordinator I staff on carrier selection, documentation, and exception resolution
- Conduct carrier rate analysis and support transportation procurement activities with lane data and cost comparisons
- Identify and resolve systemic freight exceptions and process gaps; recommend procedural improvements to management
- Manage freight audit activities: review carrier invoices, verify charges, dispute unauthorized accessorials
- Coordinate with sales, production, and customer service on expedited shipping requirements and delivery commitments
- Build and maintain carrier routing guides and preferred vendor lists with current rate and service information
- Generate and distribute freight performance reports including cost per shipment, on-time delivery, and claims rate
- Manage freight claims through investigation and settlement in coordination with carriers and insurers
Overview
Freight Coordinator II is the mid-level role in a freight coordination function — experienced enough to handle complexity independently, knowledgeable enough to guide newer staff, and connected enough to carrier and vendor relationships to resolve problems quickly.
The day-to-day work builds on the foundation of entry-level coordination — booking, tracking, documenting — but the portfolio of shipments handled at this level includes the ones that require judgment: the customer who needs a delivery rescheduled because they didn't have dock space, the flatbed load with a dimensional exception that the carrier's standard equipment won't accommodate, the international shipment where the commodity description needs to match the HTS code the customs broker is filing against.
Informal team leadership is a defining element of the role. Coordinator IIs are not typically managers, but they answer questions, provide guidance on carrier selection, and help train new hires on system workflows and documentation requirements. The quality of a freight coordination department depends significantly on whether the II-level staff are invested in the team's performance or just focused on their own workloads.
Reporting and analysis work that doesn't appear at the Coordinator I level starts at the II level. Pulling on-time delivery reports, tracking freight cost per shipment, and preparing carrier performance summaries for management reviews requires TMS data proficiency that coordinators develop over time.
The Freight Coordinator II role is where career paths begin to diverge. Some people move upward toward Logistics Analyst, Transportation Procurement Specialist, or Supply Chain Coordinator — roles with more strategic and analytical weight. Others develop deep operational expertise and advance toward coordination team lead or operations management. Both paths are viable, and the II role is where those preferences start to become visible.
Qualifications
Education:
- Associate or bachelor's degree in logistics, supply chain management, business, or transportation
- Some organizations accept significant operational experience in place of a degree
Experience:
- 2–5 years of freight coordination or transportation operations experience
- Demonstrable experience with complex shipment types: international, oversize, temperature-controlled, or high-value freight
- Track record of handling freight exceptions and escalations independently
Technical knowledge:
- TMS proficiency: Oracle TM, JDA/Blue Yonder, SAP TM, McLeod, or similar (not just basic user level)
- International trade documentation: EEI, commercial invoice, SLI, SED, customs entry basics
- Incoterms 2020 applied to carrier selection and risk allocation
- Freight audit concepts: invoice reconciliation, accessorial dispute process
- Freight claims process: Carmack Amendment basics, documentation requirements, filing procedures
- EDI transaction types: 204, 210, 214 for carrier communication
Analytical skills:
- Cost-per-shipment analysis and lane benchmarking
- Carrier performance reporting: OTD, damage rates, billing accuracy
- TMS report generation and export for management presentations
Leadership:
- Peer mentoring and informal knowledge transfer to junior team members
- Proactive process improvement identification and recommendation
Career outlook
The Freight Coordinator II level is a stable mid-career position in logistics with consistent demand across manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, and 3PL sectors. Supply chain complexity has increased rather than decreased over the past decade — more import activity, more specialized equipment types, more regulatory requirements — which sustains demand for experienced coordinators who can handle complexity without constant supervision.
TMS automation has affected the volume of purely administrative coordination work, but it has expanded the complexity management workload in proportion. Systems flag exceptions; people resolve them. The ratio of exception-handling to routine processing has shifted in favor of exceptions, which means the skills that distinguish a Coordinator II from a Coordinator I are more valuable, not less.
E-commerce growth continues to drive high freight coordination demand at retailers and fulfillment operations. The pressure on delivery speed and accuracy creates a continuous need for coordinators who can manage time-sensitive shipments, coordinate with carriers on delivery appointment constraints, and communicate clearly across internal and external stakeholders.
Near-shoring of manufacturing in Mexico and domestic production investment is creating more complex cross-border freight that requires experienced coordinators comfortable with customs coordination and international documentation. The US-Mexico trade corridor specifically has significant coordination demand that is expected to grow.
For Coordinator II professionals ready to advance, the paths are clear and the skills are transferable. Logistics Analyst roles are available at most large shippers and 3PLs for coordinators who develop strong TMS data skills and analytical capability. Transportation Procurement Specialist roles are available for those who develop carrier negotiation depth. Either path represents meaningful salary advancement above the Coordinator II ceiling.
Sample cover letter
Dear Hiring Manager,
I'm applying for the Freight Coordinator II position at [Company]. I have three years of freight coordination experience at [Company], where I've managed domestic truckload and LTL shipments and, for the past 18 months, taken on international export coordination for our Asia-Pacific supplier shipments.
On the domestic side, I manage our most complex outbound shipments — oversize flatbed loads for our construction equipment product line, temperature-controlled LTL for our perishable accessories, and any expedited requirements when production timelines shift. I've built carrier relationships that let me solve problems that our TMS system can't — like getting a preferred carrier to hold a truck for a 2-hour load delay rather than canceling and rebooking at a higher spot rate.
On the international side, I coordinate with our customs broker on import entries, prepare EEI filings for our exports, and manage the forwarder relationships for three ocean lanes and one air cargo lane. I'm comfortable with commercial invoice and packing list requirements across our active trade lanes and I understand how Incoterms affect who handles what at each handoff point.
I've been informally training two newer coordinators on our team for the past six months — they come to me first when they have a system question or an exception they're not sure how to resolve. I enjoy that part of the job; it keeps me sharp and it improves the team's output.
I hold an APICS CSCP certificate and I'm midway through the TIA freight broker education curriculum because I want to understand the brokerage side of the transactions I work through every day.
I'd welcome the chance to discuss this opportunity further.
[Your Name]
Frequently asked questions
- What distinguishes a Freight Coordinator II from a Freight Coordinator I?
- The II designation typically reflects 2–5 years of experience, expanded scope (international freight, specialized equipment, complex accounts), greater autonomy in decision-making, and informal team lead responsibilities. A Coordinator I works on standard domestic shipments with supervision; a Coordinator II handles exceptions, mentors junior staff, conducts analysis, and often manages carrier relationships directly without supervisor involvement.
- Is international freight experience required for a Freight Coordinator II role?
- It depends on the organization. At manufacturing and retail companies with significant import/export activity, international freight coordination is often a defining component of the II role. At domestic-focused carriers and 3PLs, the II level may reflect complex domestic operations (specialized equipment, high-value freight) rather than international scope. Job postings typically specify which expertise is required.
- What kind of freight audit work does this role involve?
- Freight audit involves reviewing carrier invoices against confirmed rates, contract terms, and shipment records to identify billing errors and unauthorized charges. Accessorial charges (residential delivery, liftgate, detention, redelivery) are the most common source of billing disputes. Freight Coordinator IIs typically review invoices above a certain dollar threshold or complexity level, and dispute charges through carrier billing portals or direct negotiation.
- How does the Coordinator II role interact with procurement and supply chain teams?
- Coordinator IIs often provide the operational data that procurement teams use in carrier negotiations — lane costs, on-time performance, claims rates by carrier. They may participate in RFP processes by providing historical shipment data and validating submitted rates against actual volumes. The closer connection to procurement is one of the distinguishing features of the II role compared to purely transactional coordinator work.
- What certifications help a Freight Coordinator II advance?
- The APICS CSCP (Certified Supply Chain Professional) or ASCM's CTSC are broadly recognized supply chain credentials. IATA Cargo Agent certification adds international air freight depth. The CCSM (Certified Customer Service Manager) from the MSCA addresses the customer-facing aspect of the role. Some coordinators pursue a licensed customs broker exam to open international trade compliance career paths.
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