Transport is the movement of objects, goods, or individuals (humans or animals) from one place to another. Modes of transport include aviation, rail, road transport, maritime transport, cable transport, pipeline transport and space transport. The mode also depends on the type of vehicle or infrastructure used. Means of transportation may include human-powered vehicles, automobile, motorcycle, scooter, bus, metro, tram, train, truck, walking, elevator, helicopter, the boat or plane, etc. The type of transport can be characterized by belonging to the public or private sector.
The transport of goods, or freight, is an economic activity.
In Spanish the word freight is polysemic. In any case, the term "freight" is mainly used in the semantic fields of the transport of goods and trade, whether in reference to merchandise itself (freight is in that case the amount of goods that are transported by boat, airplane , train, truck, etc.), or in reference to the agreed price at the time of purchase or selling goods.
Road freight transport is the transport of goods through the road network, usually by trucks or light commercial vehicles.
The freight carrier (or "valet") is the commercial enterprise specializing in the transport of goods. In most countries, he exercises a regulated profession. In France, the road freight carrier belongs to land carriers, such as rail carriers (transport by rail, of goods, people or goods), movers (road transport of goods), road carriers of people, etc.
The function of transporter, then the profession of road haulier of goods has evolved according to:
- of the invention and evolution of the things transported;
- the invention and development of means of transport;
- socio-economic data (market requirements);
- regulations which have framed the exercise of the activity, then the profession.
Today, road freight transport is integrated into the supply chain: logistics service providers often include in a single contract, not only storage, handling, packaging and packaging services, as well as general organization of flows and associated information processing, but also transport operations.
The natural or legal person who transports goods, called a freight carrier, uses means of transport (cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks, trains, bicycle freighters, aircraft, ships, etc.) and infrastructure.
These are made up of:
- communication routes (roads, railways, canals, rivers ...) which define the mode of transport:
- or land: road and rail transport;
- either maritime;
- either by inland waterway (river or canal transport);
- or aerospace (air transport and space transport);
- either combined, or multimodal or more modal;
- facilities (car parks, ports, airports, etc.) intended to tranship goods or vehicles, to maintain vehicles or park them, to accommodate vehicle drivers;
- and engineering structures, intended to overcome natural obstacles (bridges, viaducts, tunnels, locks, etc.).