Shipping carriers come in two flavors, says FedEx: freight forwarders and integrators. The forwarder is a third-party agent (or 3PL), often without shipping and transportation assets, operating on your behalf to arrange with others the carriage of your freight. The integrator, by contrast, arranges cargo movement like the freight forwarder, but also owns the assets. Expect differences in quality, and costs, between the two. Article