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A critical component of the global economy, freight networks have always supported the trade of goods such as raw materials, parts and products between nations. While globalization depends on the modernization of the freight infrastructure and the relaxation of trading laws, it is not surprising that the capacity to transport goods from any point of the world to any given location has increased tremendously in the past few years, while more and more countries are forming unions to encourage trading and standardize import and export laws. While freight transportation plays an important role in the convenient access we have gained to a great variety of goods, the e-commerce advent would not have been possible without the measures mentioned above. Even though rarely mentioned, freight transportation has a great impact on the global economy, which greatly depends on our capacity to transport goods quickly and easily from country to country. Before reaching the global market, a product manufactured in China or Indonesia has to go on a long journey that involves almost every type of transportation available today form trucks to trains and boats. The cargo network has to work perfectly to ensure that goods manufactured in China reach a small store in Paris without any delays. It would be amazing to track down the complex travelling story of a single device manufactured in Poland, if we also take into account the journey every component has made through the world or the places from where the raw materials needed to manufacture those components have come. The flow of goods all over the world is complex and can greatly influence the global economy. In fact, imagining globalization without our current freight network is not even possible. It is common knowledge that trade is impossible without transportation. Humans have practiced freight transportation since ancient times and the phrase Silk Road rings a bell even to those that have no inclination towards history. The flow of luxury goods over an impossible distance at that time of more than 6,000 km from Asia to Europe has enabled important cultural exchanges and shaped the world as we know it. The moment the idea of society emerged, trade and transportation also began and have become essential for the economy, making and breaking societies ever since. Currently, the modern system of international trade has been immensely improved, reinforced by the telecommunication network. The role of transportation has also changed dramatically in the past century from infrastructure that allowed the mobility of people and goods to a factor that shapes the global market. Manufacturers choose their location depending on the distances raw materials and parts have to travel until they reach the production line. By taking into account transportation costs from one point of interest to another, companies might choose a strategic location to manufacture their goods ever since the fragmentation of the production has been introduced. The cargo network has made production fragmentation even more popular allowing companies develop and manufacture products at lower rates by giving them access to cheap materials. For more information about freight network and cargo network, please click here.
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