The traditional supply chain flows product from manufacturers to fabricators to wholesalers/distributors to retailers and, finally, to the end user. (See Figure 1.) For this discussion, we define manufacturers as those who convert raw material, such as ore or crude oil or similar substances, into a manufacturing commodity. Fabricators turn the commodity into a product, and wholesalers/distributors buy large lots and sell in smaller quantities. Between each of these organizations lies a transportation element.