A private carrier provides transportation or delivery of goods or services for a single entity, often a corporation; usually that entity's primary business is not transportation but rather something else. For example, the Wegmans grocery store chain owns and operates their own private fleet to deliver produce and goods to their stores; Wegmans' primary business is not transportation but grocery retail; therefore the Wegmans fleet is a private carrier. Other corporations with private fleets include General Motors, Toyota, Ace Hardware, and Archer Daniels Midland. Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. ... General Motors Corporation, also known as GM, is the worlds largest automaker and has been the global industry sales leader for 75 years. ... Toyota redirects here. ... Ace Hardware was a hardware store formed in 1924 by Richard Hesse, E. Gunnard Lindquist, Frank Burke and Oscar Fisher in Chicago, Illinois. ... The Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM), based in Decatur, Illinois, operates more than 270 plants worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into numerous products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial and animal feed markets worldwide. ...

A private carrier is distinguished from a common carrier whose primary business is the transport of goods, and which is in business to serve any customers that hire them, such as buses, railroads, trucking companies, airlines and taxis. Private carriers may refuse to sell their services at their own discretion, whereas common carriers must treat all customers equally. Amtrak and Greyhound Lines bus company are examples of common carriers. A common carrier is an organization that transports a product or service using its facilities, or those of other carriers, and offers its services to the general public. ... Acela Express in West Windsor, NJ Amtrak Cascades service with tilting Talgo trainsets in Seattle, Washington Amtrak train in downtown Orlando, Florida For other uses, see Amtrak (disambiguation). ... Greyhound Lines is the largest intercity common carrier of passengers by bus in North America, serving 2200 destinations in the United States. ...

It is also distinguished from an independent carrier which is an individual owner-operator or trucker who may make deals with private carriers, common carriers, contract carriers, or others as he or she wishes. A trucker is a person who is employed as a truck driver (particularly of semi-trailers). ...

Although establishing and operating a private fleet is a substantial expense, it can in the long run reduce costs if the volume is large enough. Common carriers require shipment from fixed points (for example, Greyhound will not pick you up at your house) while private carriers can set up any pickup or dropoff points desired. Some corporations mix both systems, using common carriers where possible and supplementing with private carriage.

Private carriage usually refers to trucking, but is also found in rail and water transportation.

Beyond physical transportation, private carrier may also refer to communication or communication services. Certain frequencies which are restricted to use by law enforcement are sometimes called "private carriers" -- station class codes beginning with FB6 or FB7 are private carriers. In the telecommunications industry, defining "private carrier" and "common carrier" has become increasingly difficult with the growth of mobile phone service providers, VOIP, and other non-traditional means of delivering communication services. Telecommunication involves the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. ... IP Telephony, also called Internet telephony, is the technology that makes it possible to have a telephone conversation over the Internet or a dedicated Internet Protocol (IP) network instead of dedicated voice transmission lines. ...

External links

• American Trucking Association private carrier application (pdf format, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader]
• Articles and press releases for top private carrier companies in the United States
• Blurring of lines between private carriers and common carriers (communication)
• Designing a private fleet
• FCC station class codes
• Sample state trucking association private carrier membership application