OK. The imbroglio between driveway and parkway has been resolved, but in the same spirit, I ask this. Freight in a boxcar is called a shipment, while freight in a boat is called cargo. Why?
I think the terminology of shipment and cargo is a actually a little more vague than that. The way it seems to me, materials that are being transported from one place to another by any means may be considered cargo. As for shipment, in the way I have heard it used, shipment is used to describe the whole of the cargo as a unit (as in, “Did we get that shipment from Dell yesterday?”, or, “McDonald’s gets shipments of food (I suppose it could be called food) every day.” Also, shipment (or shipping) may take place by truck (UPS, etc.), train, boat, plane, anything.
barbitu8, you may wanna try cruising the FAQs to this website where you will find, among other things, Questions We Refuse to Answer.