Transportation is fundamental to the development and operation of an industrial society. It permits the specialization of work effort necessary to achieve efficiency and productivity. Geographically distant resources become accessible with transportation. The economic growth of any society in any part of the world is directly related to the availability of transportation. A society without an advanced transportation system remains primitive. In a broad sense, transportation is defined as the movement of freight and passengers from one location to another. The important common element in any definition of transportation, however, is movement: changing the physical location of freight or passengers. Products must be moved to the location where they are needed and wanted, such as groceries moved to a supermarket. You, in turn, must use some form of movement to get to the supermarket to buy the groceries you want and need. In a formal sense, freight transportation is defined as the economic movement of commodities and products and the effect of such movement on the development and advancement of business. The freight system includes several distinct forms of transportation, called modes. The modes differ in terms of operating characteristics and capabilities, giving them comparative advantages and disadvantages. The five major modes are water, rail, truck, pipeline, and air. Each mode enjoys （what might be called ） natural product provinces. For example, water transportation is usually used to move goods of low-value, and in large quantity. Low value reduces the transportation urgency, and the large quantity is especially suited for the volume loading and unloading machinery used at dockside. All the modes a...
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