What does Feeder mean in logistics?

In logistics and transportation, a feeder is a smaller vessel, truck, or train that takes cargo or people to a bigger hub or terminal, where they are transferred to a larger mode of transportation for further journey.

For example, a feeder vessel is a smaller ship that transfers cargo containers from smaller ports to larger ports, where the containers are subsequently loaded onto a larger vessel for long-distance travel. In contrast, a feeder truck is a smaller truck that takes commodities from a distribution center to a larger hub, where the goods are then loaded onto a larger truck for long-distance travel.

Feeder service is widely utilised in the maritime, rail, and trucking industries to connect smaller locations with bigger hubs to improve freight and passenger transit efficiency.