An intermediary of considerable importance in the field of transportation is the freight forwarder. Until recently he was commonly called a shipping and forwarding agent, but such terminology has tended rather to confuse his true function and is better forgotten. The freight forwarder therefore is an intermediary between the consignor or consignee of goods and the transport carrier,1 Customs authority2 and other third parties with whom the seller or the buyer of goods would otherwise have to negotiate himself. The forwarder offers a specialised service in solving the problems arising in the movement of goods from one place to another. To distinguish him from associated intermediaries such as carriers, clearing agents, shipbrokers etc., is not easy. With the growth of multipurpose groups which perform as many associated operations as are economically viable, there is no attempt to differentiate between them. They may in practice be one continuous transaction, although from a legal viewpoint quite distinct, creating quite different rights and liabilities between the parties. This problem is accentuated in the United Kingdom where to date there has been virtually no attempt at governmental control and regulation of any intermediary in transportation apart from the carrier himself. By contrast in most other countries, particularly on the Continent of Europe and in the United States, a comprehensive system of licensing and regulation exists, which, inter alia does assist in differentiating the functions of the various intermediaries.

The forwarder in the United Kingdom is basically the agent of anyone who wishes to utilise his services to arrange transportation.3 He will also offer a variety of subsidiary services such as packing, insurance, etc., which conveniently complement the arranging of freight. This was his traditional role until the development of road transport. In modem conditions, however, his position is not always easily ascertained and must often depend upon a careful analysis of the particular facts and mode of transport. First, where a forwarder offers to forward goods by road he will normally act as a principal in the transaction in relation to his client, the shipper.4 He may either use his own transport, or that of another carrier, or else a combination of both. The