Expeditors International of Washington provides freight forwarding and logistics services, arranging the international shipping of goods by air and ocean on behalf of importers and exporters without owning the ships or planes that actually transport the freight. As a freight forwarder, the company acts as an intermediary that books cargo space with airlines and shipping lines, handles customs documentation, and coordinates the complex logistics of moving goods across international borders. This asset-light model lets Expeditors scale its logistics business without the heavy capital investment of owning a shipping fleet, instead earning margins on the difference between what it charges customers and what it pays carriers for cargo space. The company's revenue and margins are sensitive to global trade volumes and shipping capacity conditions, since periods of tight shipping capacity relative to demand tend to be more favorable for freight forwarder margins than periods of excess capacity.