Freight Forwarders, Carriers & Logistics Providers

• Carrier :Owns and operates trucks, planes, ships, or rail equipment and physically moves freight.
• Freight Forwarder or 3PL :Arranges shipments with carriers and manages routing, consolidation, documentation, customs, insurance, and tracking.

Forwarders provide end-to-end solutions and are especially helpful for international or complex moves. Going direct can be fine for simple domestic lanes and may reduce cost, but you handle more coordination. Some companies use both, depending on the situation.