Road freight Turkey–Europe: full and part loads The cargo on the truck, the paperwork with us.

On a full truckload (FTL) the vehicle runs straight from your loading point to the consignee. There is no transhipment on the way: the cargo is loaded once and unloaded once. We work with curtainside, reefer and mega trailers and pick the trailer type to suit the cargo.

A part load (LTL) travels in the same vehicle as other cargo heading the same way. Part loads leave on scheduled weekly departures; to Thessaloniki and Athens they join the daily departures, and to Skopje the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday departures. You pay only for the part of the truck you use; in return your cargo is handled alongside other shipments, and the quote says so plainly.

The loading metre (LDM) is the length of trailer floor the cargo occupies. Small, heavy cargo is billed by the kilogram; light, bulky cargo by loading metre or cubic metre. The chargeable weight is the greater of gross weight and volumetric weight.

The factor that turns cubic metres or loading metres into kilograms does not come from any regulation and differs from carrier to carrier. So the quote states which factor was used. The calculation in full is on the CBM, LDM and chargeable weight page.

The contract of carriage is confirmed by a CMR consignment note. The note is made out in three originals: one for the sender, one travelling with the goods, one kept by the carrier (art. 5). A missing or irregular note does not affect the validity of the contract (art. 4). The carrier is liable for loss, damage and delay from the moment it takes over the goods until delivery (art. 17).

Compensation is capped at 8.33 units of account, meaning Special Drawing Rights, per kilogram of gross weight short. That figure came in with the 1978 Protocol, to which Türkiye, Greece and North Macedonia are parties. If the goods are worth more, a higher declared value (art. 24) or a special interest in delivery (art. 26) can be entered on the note against a surcharge; for most cargo, cargo insurance is the simpler route. How to write a reservation is on the CMR reservations page, and the mode-by-mode comparison on carrier liability limits.

A Turkish-registered vehicle enters destination and transit countries with permits obtained under bilateral agreements or with a multilateral ECMT licence (UBAK in Türkiye). Permits are subject to quotas and are distributed through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. Which permit a route needs is set out on the road permits and ECMT page.

Türkiye has been a party to common transit since 1 December 2012, and North Macedonia since 1 July 2015. Under a T1 transit declaration the goods travel to the office of destination with import duties, taxes and trade policy measures suspended; the declaration is lodged in the electronic NCTS system. In detail: T1 transit and NCTS.

Our own customs broker prepares the export declaration, the T1 transit declaration and movement certificates such as A.TR and EUR.1; the file is not handed to anyone outside. For Middle East lanes we also prepare the border-crossing paperwork.

In EU roadside inspections, cargo securing must withstand 0.8 times the weight of the cargo in the driving direction and 0.5 times sideways and backwards, and must prevent the cargo from tipping (Directive 2014/47, Annex III). We draw up the loading plan with you to that standard. The Turkish rules and penalties are on the road cargo securing page.

Dangerous goods by road fall under ADR. Türkiye acceded to ADR on 22 February 2010; Greece and North Macedonia are parties too. In Türkiye the Regulation on the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road also gives separate duties to the consignor, packer, loader and carrier. If your cargo is dangerous goods, include the UN number and the safety data sheet in your quote request; the rules are on the dangerous goods rules page.

Our warehouse is on İstanbul's western side, in Mimarsinan, Büyükçekmece: 2,000 m² under cover. Cargo is gathered, sorted, labelled and, where needed, repacked there; goods are received and released by appointment.

Customs brokerage is in-house: declarations, HS classification, origin and movement certificates are prepared in the same team. More in the customs and warehousing section of the services page; all five transport modes are summarised on the services page.