Transportation,  a  key  element  of  the integrated supply chain, is responsible for moving parts and supplies to manufacturing plants and moving finished products to customers and retail stores. This research will initially focus on air cargo and sea cargo because:
	Air cargo is typically the major mode of transportation for electronics while sea cargo is the primary means for moving petrochemicals.
	There  is  considerably  more  traffic  between  the Asia-Pacific region and Europe  and  the  Americas  than  intra  Asia-Pacific  traffic, both air cargo and sea cargo are more important than trucking and freight railroads.
In  the  future,  research  will  also include both trucking and railroads, as inland transportation is an important element of the total supply chain.