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Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. [1] The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English , it has been extended to refer to transport by land or air (International English: "carriage") as well.
Together, these characteristics establish a commodity's "transportability." [ 2 ] The NMFC also specifies minimum packaging requirements to ensure that goods are adequately protected in the motor carrier environment and can be handled and stowed in a manner that is reasonably safe and practicable.
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). [2] The containers have standardized dimensions.
LTL shipments range from 50 to 7,000 kg (110 to 15,430 lb), being less than 2.5 to 8.5 m (8 ft 2.4 in to 27 ft 10.6 in) the majority of times. The average single piece of LTL freight is 600 kg (1,323 lb) and the size of a standard pallet. Long freight and/or large freight are subject to extreme length and cubic capacity surcharges.
Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport and now carry most seagoing non-bulk cargo. Container ship capacity is measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). Typical loads are a mix of 20-foot (1-TEU) and 40-foot (2-TEU) ISO-standard containers , with the latter predominant.
Freight transport by sea has been widely used throughout recorded history. The advent of aviation has diminished the importance of sea travel for passengers, though it is still popular for short trips and pleasure cruises. Transport by water is cheaper than transport by air or ground, [1] but significantly slower for longer distances.
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The words cargo and freight have become interchangeable in casual usage. Technically, "cargo" refers to the goods carried aboard the ship for hire, while "freight" refers to the act of carrying of such cargo, but the terms have been used interchangeably for centuries. Generally, the modern ocean shipping business is divided into two classes: