A return trip of a vehicle or ship that carries cargo back to its origin point, allowing the carrier to make money on both directions of travel.
Compound of 'back' and 'haul' (to pull or transport). The term emerged in trucking and shipping in the 20th century to describe the economic practice of returning with cargo instead of empty.
Truckers used to lose money driving back empty—backhauling changed everything by letting them sell that return trip to a different customer, making the whole operation more profitable.
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