Wort des Tages
15 February 2026
backloading
The transportation of cargo or shipment on a return trip, using the space already paid for and used for the outward leg.
Warum dieses Wort
The outward leg is already paid for, so the return load is priced against empty running rather than full cost. That is why a backload rate can look absurdly cheap and still make money.
In use
If you can find me a backload out of Leeds tonight, that truck doesn't come home empty for once.
Written by our editors to show how the term is used, not a recorded quotation.