Foley and Wayne (1993) define backloading as situations in which a the transporter obtains a load for the return journey horne where "horne" can be interpreted as back to or close to base. This paper examines the potential of the Irish food industry to obtain backloads and assesses the efficiency of Irish hauliers to obtain such backloads. The structure of the paper is as follows: the first section outlines the importance of the Irish food industry and is followed by a brief discus­ sion of transport in the food industry. A review of the Irish haulage industry is the subject of the third section while the fourth section deals with the potential and efficiency of obtaining backloads among the Irish food industry. The paper concludes with some comments on future developments with respect to transport requirements and costs.