We arrange freight from Brussels to the Czech Republic from Zaventem airport, from warehouses in Vilvoorde and Machelen and from producers across Brabant – as a full truck, part load or individual pallets on a groupage service. Prague is about 900 km away and goods reach the consignee within 2 days of loading.
Brussels is not an industrial city in the traditional sense. Freight heading from here to the Czech Republic and Slovakia is mostly collected on its edges: in the air cargo zone next to the airport, in distribution centres along the canal and the A1/E19 motorway, in research parks near Leuven and at pharmaceutical sites in Walloon Brabant. Inside the city, food producers and wholesalers load, and there vehicle size and the low-emission zone decide what is possible. For an overview of the whole country, see transport from Belgium; this page covers only Brussels and its surroundings. Knapek Spedition in Břeclav has arranged road freight since 2011 with more than 500 vetted contracted carriers.
Where in Brussels and Brabant do we collect?
| Area | What ships from there | Suitable vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| Zaventem – Brucargo | air freight, spare parts, medicines, electronics | van or curtain-sider depending on volume; reefer for medicines |
| Vilvoorde and Machelen | goods from distribution centres by the canal and A1/E19 | trailer, loading dock and booked time slot |
| Mechelen | goods from logistics parks and online retail warehouses | trailer or part load, often several references |
| Leuven and Haasrode | instruments and lab equipment from research parks | enclosed vehicle, careful securing |
| Wavre and Walloon Brabant | pharmaceutical and biotech consignments | reefer at the specified temperature |
| Anderlecht and Forest | chocolate, biscuits, food, city wholesale goods | smaller vehicle for the streets; temperature control for chocolate |
How does loading work in the low-emission zone and central Brussels?
The low-emission zone covers the entire Brussels region, and foreign vehicles must meet the same emission standard as Belgian ones. We therefore pick the carrier with the collection address in mind from the moment you book. Before a vehicle is sent to a city address, we check:
- exactly where the address is – in the centre, on the edge of the region or already outside it
- whether the shipper has a loading dock or a tail-lift vehicle is needed
- delivery time windows and any weight limits on the street
- whether the warehouse requires a pre-booked slot
Central addresses are usually served by a smaller truck or a van taking roughly 5 to 10 pallets, in pedestrian zones during the morning delivery window. The warehouses in Vilvoorde and Machelen take standard articulated trailers.
How is an air freight shipment collected from Brucargo?
Air cargo waits for collection in the handling warehouses at Zaventem. To release it, the driver needs the shipment number and an agreed pick-up time; goods from outside the EU must be cleared first, which is the job of the importer or its customs agent. Once you send us these details, we schedule the collection so the truck does not sit in the queue outside the warehouse. Urgent pieces can leave by van as soon as they are released, while larger volumes travel as a part load with other goods from the area.
Medicines, chocolate and laboratory instruments
For pharmaceutical consignments from Wavre and chocolate from Brussels producers we provide a reefer. Send us the required temperature range in advance; the vehicle arrives pre-cooled and holds it throughout the journey. Sensitive lab instruments from Leuven and Haasrode travel in an enclosed vehicle, strapped down and blocked against movement; the driver checks the packaging at collection and records any reservations on the CMR.
Which route does the truck take from Brussels?
From Brussels the truck follows the E40 past Leuven and Liège to Aachen, then German motorways via Cologne, Frankfurt, Würzburg and Nuremberg to the Rozvadov crossing and on to Prague. Brno is about 1,100 km away, but we deliver to any address in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, including Bratislava and Žilina. The Belgian distance-based truck toll and the German and Czech tolls are all included in the price. Vehicles over 7.5 t may not drive in Germany on Sundays and public holidays, so goods loaded on Friday usually arrive on Monday.
Mechelen and Leuven on one truck: consolidating shipments
A full truck holds 33 euro pallets or 13.6 loading metres and roughly 24 tonnes. If you buy from several suppliers in Brabant, we combine collections in Mechelen and Leuven on one vehicle within a single day. If it is only a few pallets, they join a groupage service – you pay only for the loading metres used, and one euro pallet equals 0.4 ldm. A Brussels collection can also be combined with a shipment from Antwerp or Ghent.
Documents and what we need for a quote
EU goods are not cleared through customs; an invoice or delivery note and a CMR are sufficient. On EXW or FCA terms you book the transport, through us, while on DAP the supplier arranges it. For a quote, send the collection address with postcode, number and size of pallets, weight and delivery location; for city addresses also the dock situation and time window, and for air freight the shipment number. During office hours we reply within 30 minutes, and a vehicle is usually arranged within 24 hours.
Shipping from Brussels on a regular basis? We set a fixed loading day in Vilvoorde or Zaventem and a long-term rate – regular transport, or write to us.
Related guides: Electronics transport · Preparing pallets · Unloading without a dock