Transloading cargo occurs upon delivery of a shipment from one mode of transportation to a different method. For example, an ocean shipment arrives, and the contents of the containers are transloaded to a truck or several trucks for final mile delivery. In general, transloading occurs when one form of transportation can not be used for the entire delivery of the cargo. In general, for shipping requirements, the transload activity usually takes place at a warehouse, i.e., a transload facility using loading equipment suitable for cargo handling.
N.B. The term transloading is frequently interchanged with the terminology 'cross-dock. This is dependent if the goods are stored, sorted, or consolidated on the dock of a warehouse before final delivery.