Sales Independent Freight Agent - Ocean Import, Iron & Steel (Commission-Only)

Skypace; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 220,000; Part time

Job summary

Skypace is seeking an Independent Freight Agent specializing in ocean import of Iron & Steel in Chicago. The role is commission-only with 40% of gross profit in the first year, supported by a comprehensive operational team that manages execution while you focus on sales.

Candidates should have at least 5 years of related experience and a proven track record. The position offers an unparalleled opportunity for motivated individuals wanting to grow their customer base without the constraints of a traditional salary structure.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in ocean freight sales or independent freight agency with an existing book of iron & steel importer accounts.
• Book scope of $500,000 or more in annual gross profit.
• Fluency in anti-dumping and countervailing duty exposure, mill test certificate handling.

Responsibilities

• Activate and grow an independent portfolio of Midwest Iron & Steel importer accounts.
• Track overall portfolio performance and expand the book.
• Partner with procurement and account management teams for competitive service proposals.

Skills

Ocean freight import sales

Iron and steel import

Anti-dumping documentation

Job description

Independent Freight Agent – Ocean Import, Iron & Steel (Commission-Only)

If you run an independent Iron & Steel import book and want pure economics with no base and no approval chain, this track pays 40% of gross profit in Year 1 and 33% thereafter, with no cap. Your accounts stay attributed to you from day one, and Skypace’s operations team executes delivery while you keep selling.

About Skypace

Skypace serves shippers whose freight programs depend on consistent execution across repeated ocean movements, multiple service providers, and constant commercial pressure on cost, timing, and space allocation. For these companies, performance is shaped by how systematically pricing, allocation, and milestone visibility move alongside the shipment itself.

Skypace operates a global operating environment where this coordination is built into the workflow as a structural standard. Shippers, carriers, drayage providers, and internal teams operate through a shared data structure that accumulates context, supports timely decisions, and preserves the operational record across the shipment lifecycle.

Today, this model supports more than 150 customers across 18 countries through direct integrations with top 10 ocean carriers, among them MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO, and Hapag-Lloyd. The operating environment optimizes shipper performance across freight cost, communication discipline, error reduction, booking speed, and visibility into how each participating party performs against commitment.

Operational data accumulates as a clean, structured record that supports continuous process improvement today and becomes foundational as supply chains integrate AI-driven decision agents into planning, execution, and exception handling.

Why this role exists

California and Houston already run commission-only and project tracks. This track extends the model to independent Iron & Steel import through West Coast and Southeast gateways railed inland to Chicago and the Midwest, a segment where independent agents run portable books. Skypace provides negotiated carrier allocation, anti-dumping documentation, mill test certificate handling, and freight audit defense, and transparent pricing, so the agent sells while operations executes.

Experience: 5+ years (60 months)

Base salary: Approximately $200,000 Year 1 commission at a $500,000 GP book (40% rate)

Incentive: Commission-only contractor. Year 1: 40% of GP, no cap, no base. Year 2 and beyond: 33% of GP. Bonus accelerator: 10% of GP on three highest GP months.

Qualifications

5+ years in ocean freight sales or independent freight agency with an existing book of iron & steel importer accounts

Book scope of $500,000 or more in annual gross profit, or a credible documented path within Year 1

At a $500,000 GP book the Year 1 rate of 40% supports approximately $200,000 in agent earnings

Fluency in anti-dumping and countervailing duty exposure, mill test certificate handling, and heavy-cargo planning

Direct relationships at owner-operator, plant logistics, or procurement level

Responsibilities

Activate and grow an independent portfolio of Midwest Iron & Steel importer accounts

Track overall portfolio performance and expand the book

Partner with the procurement and account management teams to build more competitive service proposals for customers across pricing, technology, and scale

Track attribution in CRM from day one of activation, with operations executing delivery

Skills

Ocean freight import sales, iron and steel import, anti-dumping documentation

How the operation runs

Skypace operates on a proactive monitoring discipline. Milestones are tracked through live data across the entire shipment ecosystem. When a deviation in schedule, cost, or capacity surfaces within the operating environment, Skypace initiates the next operational action before the client encounters the problem.

The instant-quote and online booking engine compresses commercial response time from days to minutes. Carrier MQC commitments hold during peak season, which is the period when allocation decides whether a shipper’s seasonal cycle preserves its margin or absorbs unplanned cost.

The quote engine surfaces every accessorial at the quote stage, including peak surcharges, GRI, port congestion fees, drayage components, and specialty equipment or reefer plug charges where applicable. The number the client sees at quote stands on the invoice. Skypace treats pricing integrity as a commercial discipline that holds from quote through to settlement.