Typically, they not only handle reservations but also negotiate fare structures and car rental contracts, monitor employee compliance with company travel policies and manage travel expense accounting. Thus, they are becoming more an agent for the traveler than the travel provider. The transportation industry is central to most economies because so many other industries depend on it. Transportation can be viewed in terms of shippers and carriers. The shippers may be suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers or consumers, but they are all part of a supply chain.
Carriers handle freight, express mail and the like.
Faced with intense, worldwide competition, shippers are pressing carriers to provide more services at lower cost by streamlining the supply chain and managing freight logistics in new ways.