In fuel, a transport is the large tanker trailer that moves fuel in big volumes, pulled by a tractor.
The transport does the heavy hauling over long distances, roughly 7,500 gallons and up. It runs between the big fuel terminals and the local storage yards, called bulk plants, that a jobber delivers out of.
It pairs with the smaller bobtail. The transport moves fuel in bulk across distance, and the bobtail splits it into local drops. Dividing the work that way keeps the cost per gallon down.
In useThe transport runs the eighty miles from the terminal to the bulk plant, and the bobtails take over for the deliveries around town.
Where the word comes from
Transport comes from old roots meaning to carry across or over. The trade made it the name for the big over-the-road tanker that carries fuel the long distances.
See also Bobtail, Bulk plant, Terminal