Definition
Freight carried on the return leg of a trip that would otherwise run empty — key to reducing empty kilometers and cost.
See it in practice
Related terms in Road freight
FTL (Full Truckload)
A shipment that fills an entire truck. The shipper pays for the whole vehicle, which travels directly from pickup to delivery without sharing space.
LTL (Less Than Truckload)
A shipment that occupies only part of a truck. Multiple shippers share the vehicle and split the cost; transit usually includes consolidation stops.
Groupage (consolidation)
Combining shipments from multiple senders into one vehicle or container. The road/ocean equivalent of ride-sharing — lower cost, slightly longer transit.
Drayage
Short-distance road transport of containers, typically between a port or rail terminal and a nearby warehouse.
Dead mileage (empty running)
Distance a vehicle travels without cargo. Marketplaces reduce it by matching return loads to empty legs.
TIR Carnet
An international customs transit document that lets sealed road vehicles cross borders without inspection at each frontier, under the TIR Convention.