If you need to ship freight between the UK and Germany, there are a range of transport options available. It’s not just about finding the lowest price, but finding the service that best meets your needs. How long it will take, whether you can track it, the reliability of the service. There’s a lot to consider. But for the majority of businesses, the choice comes down to three main freight options: road, air, and sea.
Understanding Freight Services Between the UK and Germany
Road freight
Road freight is something of the shipping workhorse between UK and Europe. Regardless of your cargo type, it’s almost always the most practical and cost-effective solution. Largely because of the relatively short distance and excellent road infrastructure in Europe, goods can be moved quickly and efficiently. Depending on the service you select – groupage, part-load, full-load, and express – road freight can take between 24 hours and seven days.
Air freight
Air freight isn’t a common choice for sending freight to Europe, largely because the short distance renders the extra expense unnecessary. But if you have a small amount of lightweight cargo, it can be useful. Especially if you’re working to a tight deadline. That said, although some companies offer next-day air freight services to Germany, the standard transit time is around two days, with customs clearance. And as air freight is significantly more expensive than road and sea freight, and express road freight can move your goods just as quickly, the expense isn’t often justified.
Sea freight
Sea freight is often associated with long-distance international shipping, but it can also make sense for businesses shipping larger freight to Europe, or as part of multi-modal freight services to Germany. When looking to cut costs on non-urgent cargo, many businesses opt to have their goods moved by road to a UK port, shipped to a German sea port, then transferred to road or rail transport for delivery in Germany. It takes longer, with an estimated transit time of around 9-10 days. But it can be useful for moving large, heavy, or bulky shipments. And for reducing freight costs.
How to choose the right freight forwarding services
The role of freight forwarders is to reduce the complexity of sending freight. As well as providing you with a range of freight options, they’ll help you navigate the logistics, customs, and other issues of sending freight to Europe. So, look for:
- A company with experience in moving freight between the UK and Germany.
- A freight forwarder that can provide customs expertise. Post-Brexit, sending freight to the EU became more complicated, so you need to get your paperwork in order.
- A logistics provider that can offer flexible transport options, such as groupage, full and part loads, express, and multimodal freight.
- If a company can’t be open with you about potential transit times and pricing, they’re not worth working with.
There is no single best option for shipping freight to Germany; it depends entirely upon your goods, your budget, and the needs of your customers. But working with an experienced freight forwarder can help to make the process easier. So, whether you choose road, sea, or air freight, you can hand over the complexities and be confident that your goods will get to where you need them to be.
Is your business looking for reliable freight services to Germany? Get in touch to find out how Plexus Freight can help.
