Road transport

International road freight means moving goods by truck between two or more countries, with the same vehicle collecting the load at the shipper’s site and delivering it to the consignee without transshipment on the way. Within Europe it is the most flexible mode: a truck can drive up to a factory, a construction site or a distribution center, and the trip plan can still change after departure.

Road transport works well for anything from a single pallet to a full truckload, over distances within the continent, and for goods that should not sit at terminals for long. Its limits are known in advance: vehicle weight and dimensions, driver working hours, queues at border crossings, and each country’s own rules along the route. That is why an international trip is planned around documents, permits and the calendar, not just kilometers.

ETIKO organizes road transport as part of the logistics chain: it chooses the vehicle type for the cargo, coordinates loading, checks documents and tracks the trip until unloading. For dangerous or oversized cargo, ADR requirements or special movement permits apply on top of the general rules, as described on separate pages.

The body is chosen by the cargo, the loading method and the temperature regime. A wrong choice usually shows up only at the warehouse, when a forklift cannot reach the side or the cargo does not fit through the doors, so the parameters are checked before the truck is sent.

For dangerous goods, the vehicle must meet ADR requirements and the driver must hold a training certificate. Cargo above the general weight or size limits needs permits from every country on the route, and sometimes an escort.

1. Request: what is being shipped, from where to where, weight, dimensions and number of packages, preferred date, delivery terms.
2. Signing a mutual non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before work starts.
3. Choosing the setup: dedicated truck or groupage, body type, route, customs clearance points.
4. Checking requirements: permits, ADR, temperature, driving bans, border documents.
5. Agreeing the rate and schedule, booking the vehicle.
6. Loading: counting packages, securing the cargo, issuing the CMR consignment note.
7. Export customs clearance and opening transit: an NCTS declaration or a TIR carnet.
8. Tracking the trip and border crossings, reporting any deviation from the schedule.
9. Import customs clearance, unloading, consignee’s endorsement on the CMR.
10. Handing over the documents and closing the shipment.

At every step ETIKO coordinates the carrier, the warehouses, the customs broker and the customer. If the date, volume or address changes, the plan is recalculated before the truck is sent, not at the warehouse gate.

• Inaccurate weight or dimensions in the request: the truck is unsuitable or the cargo does not fit.
• Groupage without pallets or in weak packaging, although it is handled several times.
• Mismatches between the invoice, the packing list and the CMR that hold up customs clearance.
• Weekend bans and public holidays in transit countries not taken into account.
• Poor securing: a roadside check can stop the vehicle until the cargo is re-secured.
• No reservations on the CMR for visible damage, which makes it hard to prove later where it happened.
• The consignee is not ready to receive the truck, and paid waiting time builds up.

Under the CMR Convention the carrier’s liability for loss of or damage to the goods is limited to 8.33 units of account (special drawing rights, SDR) per kilogram of gross weight, unless a higher value or a special interest in delivery is declared in the consignment note. For valuable goods this is often not enough, so cargo insurance is worth discussing in advance.

• Dedicated truck (FTL). One vehicle for one shipment, direct from shipper to consignee.
• Groupage (LTL). Individual pallets and packages moved with other shipments through consolidation warehouses.
• Choosing the vehicle. Curtain-sider, mega trailer, reefer, insulated box, flatbed, low-loader, container chassis, tanker.
• Route planning. Weight and size limits, driving hours, driving bans, border crossings.
• Permits. Checking whether trip, transit or oversized movement permits are needed.
• Customs and transit. Export, NCTS or TIR, import in the country of destination.
• Loading control. Package count, securing, correct CMR.
• Trip tracking. Updates on border crossings and schedule changes.
• Post-delivery documents. CMR endorsed by the consignee and closing documents.

International agreements

• The CMR Convention (1956) governs the international road transport contract, the content of the consignment note and the limits of carrier liability.
• The AETR agreement and Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 set driving and rest times; a tachograph is mandatory.
• The TIR Convention (1975) allows goods to travel under customs seals with a TIR carnet.
• The Convention on a common transit procedure applies to Ukraine since 1 October 2022: one T1 or T2 declaration in NCTS for the whole journey across the contracting parties.
• The ATP agreement sets vehicle requirements for perishable foodstuffs.
• The ADR agreement covers dangerous goods; it has been in force for Ukraine since 1 June 2000.

Weights and dimensions

• Directive 96/53/EC: width 2.55 m (2.60 m for conditioned bodies), height 4.00 m, articulated vehicle length 16.50 m, 40 t for a five- or six-axle articulated combination, 44 t for a three-axle tractor carrying containers or swap bodies up to 45 ft in intermodal transport.
• National limits for particular roads, bridges and seasons are checked for each country on the route.

Cargo securing

• Directive 2014/47/EU provides for checks of cargo securing during roadside inspections in the EU.
• In practice, EN 12195-1 is used to calculate securing, and the CTU Code for packing cargo transport units.

Permits and driving bans

• Bilateral, transit and multilateral ITF (ECMT) permits where a country requires them.
• Weekend, public holiday and summer driving bans under each state’s rules.