Definition
Distance a vehicle travels without cargo. Marketplaces reduce it by matching return loads to empty legs.
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.
Backhaul (return load)
Freight carried on the return leg of a trip that would otherwise run empty — key to reducing empty kilometers and cost.
TIR Carnet
An international customs transit document that lets sealed road vehicles cross borders without inspection at each frontier, under the TIR Convention.