Online  training is a convenient and common way for professionals to enroll in classes that can be taken during any time or day of the week. Students studying to become freight brokers can take online training to prepare for licensing and to learn the basics of the freight brokerage business. Similar to in-classroom training, online classes teach aspiring freight brokers.

Types
The typical curricula for online freight broker training programs include an overview of the career and industry, as well as Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations. The FMCSA regulates the commercial transportation industry and enforces safety rules for operators of commercial vehicles. While students learn about implementing marketing and sales strategies, and building successful client relationships, online freight broker and agent programs also teach students how to open and manage their own businesses. Courses are also given on setting rates for shipping carriers, building and managing load dynamics, managing finances and processing insurance claims.

Skills
One of the most significant skills that students learn in online freight broker training programs is how to start a business. In addition to gaining knowledge of the freight brokerage sector, students learn how to build marketing campaigns and use personal selling to create a client base. For example, online training programs teach students how to network with professionals in the freight brokerage industry and promote their business to potential shipping carriers and business partners. Online freight broker training also teaches students how to work with different personalities by speaking effectively and using negotiation tactics. Students also acquire technical skills. For example, some programs include instruction on posting and managing load data, auditing, invoicing and freight claims processing.

Time Frame
Because training is offered online, students can enroll in online freight broker classes on a rolling basis. Therefore, students can register during any time of the year and complete the program based on their own schedule and time constraints. Some programs such as the Freight Broker/Agent Training program offered by West Virginia University state that their course offering totals 150 hours. Students are initially allotted six months to complete the program. However, six-month extensions are available by request.

Potential
As students seek out online training in the freight brokerage industry, opportunities for business should emerge within the warehousing and storage sectors according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although jobs in the material moving occupations industry, which includes freight workers, will decline through 2018, an expanding U.S. economy will drive the manufacturing of goods. Trained freight brokers will be needed to facilitate transport carrier services for manufacturers, and move products from storage facilities to distribution centers and customers.
[/box]