Distance separates supply from demand. Transportation is the movement of goods or people between locations using vehicles, vessels, aircraft, or other conveyances.

In logistics the focus is freight: choosing modes, carriers, routes, and schedules that meet service requirements at acceptable cost. Infrastructure—roads, ports, rail lines, airports—sets the physical constraints. Regulation governs safety, access, and environmental impact.

Transportation cost often forms a large share of logistics spend and of total landed cost. Mode shifts, consolidation, and network redesign are primary levers for improvement. Reliable transportation turns production output into available product at the point of need.

• Movement of goods or people between places
• Uses road, rail, sea, air, and other modes
• Major component of logistics cost and service
• Constrained by infrastructure and regulation