What does the 'II' designation mean for this role?

The Coordinator II designation typically indicates a mid-level role: the person can handle any routine transaction independently, is the first escalation point for coordination problems, and takes on some responsibility for training or process documentation that entry-level coordinators don't carry. The step from Coordinator I to II usually reflects 2–4 years of experience and demonstrated ability to handle exceptions without supervision.

What is a shipper's letter of instruction (SLI) and when is it required?

An SLI is a document that the exporter provides to the freight forwarder authorizing it to prepare and sign export documents on the exporter's behalf. It specifies the shipment details — value, description, country of origin, Incoterms, and special handling instructions. Most freight forwarders require an SLI for every export booking. A well-written SLI reduces back-and-forth questions and prevents documentation errors on the export.

What are Incoterms and why do Coordinators II need to understand them?

Incoterms (International Commercial Terms) are standardized trade terms that define where the seller's delivery obligation ends and the buyer's begins — and who is responsible for freight, insurance, and import clearance costs at each point in the transit. EXW, FCA, FOB, CIF, DAP, and DDP are the most common. A Coordinator II who misreads the Incoterms on a purchase order may arrange freight on the wrong side of the transaction, creating cost disputes.

What makes temperature-controlled international freight more complex?

Temperature-controlled freight (pharmaceuticals, food products, biologics) requires reefer container or air freight with maintained temperature logs, additional carrier documentation, cold chain certifications, and faster customs clearance at destination to avoid temperature excursions at port. Delays that are minor for dry freight become product loss events for temperature-sensitive cargo. Coordinators II managing cold chain shipments need carrier-specific knowledge and more active transit monitoring.

Is the Coordinator II role a good launching point for a Customs Broker career?

Yes — the Coordinator II role provides exactly the document-handling experience that supports Customs Broker License exam preparation. The exam requires deep familiarity with 19 CFR, HTS classification, and customs procedures that coordinators encounter daily. Many licensed brokers describe their coordinator years as the practical training that made the exam concepts meaningful rather than abstract.

Transportation

Import/Export Coordinator II

Last updated May 12, 2026

At a glance

Salary (USD)$58K

$47K low$72K high

Read time: 8 min
Last updated: May 12, 2026

Salary methodology

Our proprietary model combines official data from sources such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and industry compensation reports, along with publicly available job postings, posting details, and other market signals, to identify what we believe is a representative range for this role.

These figures are directional and provided for informational and educational purposes only. Actual compensation varies by employer, location, experience, certifications, and negotiation, and should not be relied upon for hiring, salary-negotiation, or financial- planning decisions.

Role-specific factorsThe II designation typically reflects 2–4 years of experience and expanded scope. Companies in electronics, pharma, and aerospace pay at the upper end due to documentation complexity. Coordinators who have passed the CCS exam or portions of the Customs Broker License exam earn above the midpoint. Bilingual candidates earn a premium at freight forwarders serving Latin American and Asian trade lanes.

An Import/Export Coordinator II handles the full range of international trade coordination with significant autonomy — managing complex or high-value shipments, supporting compliance reviews, training junior staff, and serving as the escalation point for documentation problems and shipment exceptions that coordinators at the entry level refer upward.

Role at a glance

Typical education: Associate or bachelor's degree in international business, logistics, or supply chain
Typical experience: 2-4 years
Key certifications: NCBFAA Certified Customs Specialist (CCS), IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations
Top employer types: Freight forwarders, customs brokerages, large importers, logistics providers
Growth outlook: Positive trajectory driven by increasing trade policy complexity and demand for mid-level compliance expertise.
AI impact (through 2030): Mixed — automation is reducing the burden of manual document preparation, but demand is increasing for experts who can manage complex regulatory compliance and exception-handling.

Duties and responsibilities

Manage end-to-end coordination of complex shipments including multi-leg ocean/air/truck combinations and temperature-controlled freight
Prepare and review all import and export documentation with accuracy accountability: commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, SLIs, and certificates of origin
Submit ISF filings and verify entry classification with the licensed customs broker before entry liquidation
Review letters of credit for document compliance requirements and coordinate presentation with the trade finance team
Identify and resolve shipment exceptions — missed cut-offs, short-shipped cargo, document discrepancies — directly with carriers and brokers
Train and mentor Coordinator I staff on documentation procedures, system use, and common compliance requirements
Monitor transit milestones and proactively update internal stakeholders on shipment status, delays, and expected delivery
Support the trade compliance team with record retrieval, prior disclosure documentation, and FTA certificate of origin verification
Reconcile freight invoices against contracted rates and escalate overbilling or accessorial charge disputes to the traffic management team
Maintain documentation templates and standard operating procedures for recurring trade lanes and shipment types

Overview

A Coordinator II occupies the productive middle of an international trade operations team — experienced enough to handle any routine shipment without supervision and to take on complex or sensitive freight, but not yet managing other people as a full supervisory function. In practice, many teams depend on the Coordinator II as the daily operations anchor: the person who actually knows the carriers, has built the relationships with the freight forwarder's desk agents, and can diagnose a clearance delay in ten minutes rather than three hours.

The job involves more exception-handling than a Coordinator I role. Complex shipments — antidumping-affected imports, FDA-regulated food products, ITAR-controlled goods, temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals — route to the Coordinator II because they require judgment calls that go beyond document assembly. When a customs broker calls to say CBP has detained the shipment for an examination, the Coordinator II is typically the one who gathers the supporting documentation, coordinates with the broker on the CBP inquiry response, and communicates to the importer how many days the delay will add.

Training and documentation responsibilities also shift at the II level. Coordinator IIs often write or update the SOPs for recurring trade lanes, document the special handling procedures for unusual commodity types, and answer the daily questions from newer staff. This knowledge-sharing role is less formal than a supervisory position but more structured than simple on-the-job mentorship.

Letter of credit work distinguishes experienced coordinators. L/C transactions are unforgiving — a document discrepancy that wouldn't matter in an open-account transaction can delay payment by weeks and generate amendment fees. Coordinators II at companies that use L/Cs for international purchases develop a detailed knowledge of UCP 600 document requirements that has genuine financial value.

Qualifications

Education:

Associate or bachelor's degree in international business, logistics, supply chain, or a related field
High school diploma with 4+ years of relevant experience considered at freight forwarders with high transaction volumes

Experience:

2–4 years of import/export coordination experience
Demonstrated ability to handle full transaction cycles independently, including problem resolution
Prior experience with at least one complex freight type: cold chain, hazmat, oversized cargo, or regulated product

Certifications:

NCBFAA Certified Customs Specialist (CCS) — commonly required or in-progress at the II level
IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations — required for coordinators handling hazmat
Customs Broker License preparation underway at the career-development stage

Documentation knowledge:

All standard import and export documents (see Coordinator I qualifications) plus:
L/C compliance: UCP 600, ISBP 745, discrepancy identification and waiver request procedures
Incoterms 2020: full set from EXW through DDP, cost and risk allocation implications
ATA Carnet: temporary import documentation for exhibitions and demonstrations
FDA prior notice for food imports, phytosanitary certificates, USDA permits for agricultural products

Systems:

CargoWise, Magaya, or equivalent freight management system (intermediate to advanced user)
ACE portal for entry tracking, ISF submission, and entry summary review
ERP linkage: purchase order and goods receipt reconciliation in SAP, Oracle, or NetSuite

Career outlook

The Coordinator II level sits in an interesting position in the trade and logistics labor market. At the entry coordinator level, automation is reducing manual document preparation burden. At the senior specialist and manager levels, trade policy complexity is driving demand. The II level is the transition zone — where candidates develop the skills that make them valuable contributors at more complex roles.

For coordinators who continue developing their compliance and technical knowledge, the trajectory is positive. The jump from Coordinator II to Compliance Specialist or Trade Analyst is well-defined, and the demand for that mid-level expertise is genuine. Companies expanding their in-house compliance capabilities frequently promote from the coordinator ranks rather than hiring externally at the specialist level.

The Customs Broker License is the single most powerful accelerant at this career stage. Coordinators II who pass the exam open the door to broker positions at freight forwarders, in-house brokerage roles at large importers, and specialist positions that pay 15–25% more than the coordinator scale. The exam is difficult and preparation takes 3–6 months of serious study, but the return on that investment is consistent and measurable.

Geographic flexibility matters at the Coordinator II level. Major ports of entry — Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York/New Jersey, Houston, Chicago O'Hare, Miami — have dense ecosystems of forwarders, brokers, and importers offering advancement opportunities. Coordinators in smaller markets may find fewer options for internal promotion and need to relocate or shift to remote-eligible compliance roles to advance.

For professionals in the role now, building specialized knowledge in a high-value freight type — pharmaceutical cold chain, aerospace components with export controls, agricultural products with USDA requirements — creates a more defensible career position than remaining a generalist.

Sample cover letter

Dear Hiring Manager,

I'm applying for the Import/Export Coordinator II position at [Company]. I've been an Import/Export Coordinator at [Company] for three years, handling ocean and air freight for a mid-sized consumer electronics importer — roughly 200 container shipments and 80 air shipments per year.

In my current role I've handled the full documentation cycle independently since my second year: ISF filings, entry package preparation for our customs broker, carrier booking and B/L verification, and outbound EEI submissions. I've also been the de facto trainer for two new coordinators we've hired — I wrote updated SOPs for our ISF process when CBP changed the submission portal and coached both new hires through their first set of independent entries.

The situation that stretched me most was when one of our ocean shipments from Taiwan got flagged for a CBP intensive examination at Long Beach during the lunar new year period. The exam took nine days, and the goods were time-sensitive consumer electronics for a product launch. I stayed in daily contact with the broker on the exam status, provided additional documentation CBP requested within 24 hours on two occasions, and worked with our customer service team to manage retailer expectations. The shipment cleared without penalty, and the launch was delayed only three days.

I'm currently preparing for the Customs Broker License exam, targeting the next available sitting. I'm particularly interested in [Company] because the pharmaceutical freight component of your operations would give me hands-on cold chain experience I've been looking to add.

[Your Name]

Frequently asked questions

What does the 'II' designation mean for this role?: The Coordinator II designation typically indicates a mid-level role: the person can handle any routine transaction independently, is the first escalation point for coordination problems, and takes on some responsibility for training or process documentation that entry-level coordinators don't carry. The step from Coordinator I to II usually reflects 2–4 years of experience and demonstrated ability to handle exceptions without supervision.
What is a shipper's letter of instruction (SLI) and when is it required?: An SLI is a document that the exporter provides to the freight forwarder authorizing it to prepare and sign export documents on the exporter's behalf. It specifies the shipment details — value, description, country of origin, Incoterms, and special handling instructions. Most freight forwarders require an SLI for every export booking. A well-written SLI reduces back-and-forth questions and prevents documentation errors on the export.
What are Incoterms and why do Coordinators II need to understand them?: Incoterms (International Commercial Terms) are standardized trade terms that define where the seller's delivery obligation ends and the buyer's begins — and who is responsible for freight, insurance, and import clearance costs at each point in the transit. EXW, FCA, FOB, CIF, DAP, and DDP are the most common. A Coordinator II who misreads the Incoterms on a purchase order may arrange freight on the wrong side of the transaction, creating cost disputes.
What makes temperature-controlled international freight more complex?: Temperature-controlled freight (pharmaceuticals, food products, biologics) requires reefer container or air freight with maintained temperature logs, additional carrier documentation, cold chain certifications, and faster customs clearance at destination to avoid temperature excursions at port. Delays that are minor for dry freight become product loss events for temperature-sensitive cargo. Coordinators II managing cold chain shipments need carrier-specific knowledge and more active transit monitoring.
Is the Coordinator II role a good launching point for a Customs Broker career?: Yes — the Coordinator II role provides exactly the document-handling experience that supports Customs Broker License exam preparation. The exam requires deep familiarity with 19 CFR, HTS classification, and customs procedures that coordinators encounter daily. Many licensed brokers describe their coordinator years as the practical training that made the exam concepts meaningful rather than abstract.

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