Define: Carrier vs. Shipper

Posted by David Piotrowski

A carrier is the company or entity who moves goods. In interstate moves, carriers must be licensed by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). Within the DOT is a division known as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The goals of the FMCSA are to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. More information on the FMCSA will come from a later post.

A shipper is a person or other entity that is moving.

For example, assume for a moment that I, as an individual, need to move. I am going to move from point A to point B at the end of the month. I am a shipper. Shippers are also sometimes referred to as the consumer or the customer. Now, I don’t want to move myself so I need to find a company to move me. The company who will move me is known as the carrier. Carriers are also referred to as movers or the moving company.Before hiring a moving company, shippers should make sure that the carrier is licensed by the appropriate entity. If, as the shipper, you are moving across state lines, you should check to see whether the moving company is licensed by the DOT to perform interstate moves. All interstate movers must be licensed by the DOT. If, as the shipper, you are not moving across state lines, then the DOT has no jurisdiction over your move; however, there are state agencies that regulate intrastate movers.

Shippers can check the licensing status of potential movers here.

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