California Code, Public Utilities Code - PUC § 220

“Freight forwarder” means any corporation or person who for compensation undertakes the collection and shipment of property of others, and as consignor or otherwise ships or arranges to ship the property via the line of any common carrier at the tariff rates of such carrier, or who receives such property as consignee thereof.

This section shall not apply to any agricultural or horticultural cooperative organization operating under and by virtue of the laws of this or any other state or the District of Columbia or under federal statute in the performance of its duties for its members, or the agents, individual or corporate, of such organization in the performance of their duties as agents.

This section shall not apply to the operation of a shipper, or a group or association of shippers, in consolidating or distributing freight for themselves or for the members thereof, on a nonprofit basis, for the purpose of securing the benefits of carload, truckload, or other volume rates, or to the operations of a shippers' agent, in consolidating or distributing pool cars, whose services and responsibilities to shippers in connection with such operations are confined to the terminal area in which such operations are performed.