What is the Difference Between Freight and Shipping

What is the Difference Between Freight and Shipping

Before looking at the differences between freight and shipping, let us look at their definitions and meaning.

• Freight (also known as cargo) is a shipment of goods (mostly bulk) that is transported by land, air, water. Freight can be classified and categorized by various transportation methods (FTL, LTL, etc). The term freight only refers to commercial transportation of goods
• Shipping is the process of delivering freight from one location to another. Whether it is commercial or non-commercial, it is still called shipping. Shipping can describe personal goods being sent by mail or as parcels with goods transported in a shipping container.

There is no big difference between freight and shipping as they are interconnected. Both methods describe the transportation of goods. Freight refers to large quantities of goods, while shipping can be small.

Differences Between Cargo and Freight

Even though these terms might be the same, there is a slight difference between them.

• Cargo is referred to as goods transported by sea or air (cargo ships, cargo planes). Freight goes for truck or rail transportation (freight truck, freight train).
• Mail can be considered cargo but not freight.
• Cargo doesn’t include payments that are charged for the transportation while freight does.
• Freight describes commercial goods.
• Cargo is any transported item or product for consumption.