We arrange freight from Dijon and Burgundy to the Czech Republic with a usual transit of 2–3 days from loading – including shipments waiting at several suppliers between Dijon, Beaune, Chalon and Besançon. Dijon is about 920 km from Prague and about 1,100 km from Brno. We handle full trucks, part loads and groupage from one pallet, delivered anywhere in Czechia and Slovakia.
Which places in Burgundy and Franche-Comté can share one load?
Burgundy is not one big industrial city but a chain of smaller centres along the Saône and the A31, A36, A39 and A6 motorways. A typical shipment is therefore built from several collections:
| Place | Typical goods | Collection note |
|---|---|---|
| Dijon – Longvic, Chevigny-Saint-Sauveur, northern industrial zone | mustard, gingerbread, food, engineering parts | warehouses with docks, loading by booked slot |
| Côte de Nuits (Nuits-Saint-Georges) | wine, blackcurrant liqueur | smaller wineries, often side loading or by pallet truck |
| Beaune and Côte de Beaune | wine in wooden cases, auction wine | narrow old-town streets, shorter truck or van |
| Chalon-sur-Saône | engineering products, goods from the river port | Saône port, collection after release |
| Mâcon and the Mâconnais | wine, stock from logistics warehouses on the A6 | close to Lyon, easy to combine with collections there |
| Besançon and surroundings | precision mechanics, small metal parts | direct vehicle without transfer, parts in closed crates |
| Jura and upper Franche-Comté | Comté cheese | reefer trailer with temperature log |
How do we plan a one-day collection from several suppliers?
Dijon, Beaune and Chalon are close together, so one vehicle usually handles three or four addresses a day. To make it work smoothly we:
- list every address with its loading hours and pallet count,
- set the loading order by the delivery sequence – whatever is unloaded last goes on first,
- place heavy parts over the axles and lighter goods such as wine or food behind them,
- give each supplier the reference and the vehicle's arrival time,
- send you a summary after the last stop: which pallets were loaded where and when delivery is due.
If a supplier is not ready, the vehicle does not wait all day – the goods follow on the next run or by groupage.
Will the load go via Mulhouse or via Nancy and Metz?
The main route takes the A36 from Dijon past Besançon and Montbéliard to Mulhouse, crosses the Rhine, follows German motorways to Nuremberg and the A6 to the Waidhaus/Rozvadov crossing, then the D5 to Pilsen and Prague and the D1 to Moravia and Slovakia. Pallets from Montbéliard and Belfort or from Mulhouse and Colmar can be added on the same axis.
The alternative heads north on the A31 through Nancy and Metz to Saarbrücken and on via Mannheim and Heilbronn to Nuremberg. We use it when goods from Lorraine join the load or when the southern axis has restrictions. From southern Burgundy, around Mâcon, a collection can be combined with a shipment from Lyon. French, German and Czech tolls are included in the price.
What should you watch with wine, mustard and cheese?
Burgundy freight is mostly food and mostly fragile. Wine travels in cartons or wooden cases on pallets, stretch-wrapped with a top board; in summer we recommend a reefer so it does not overheat in the trailer. When wine is traded between businesses in the EU, the shipment needs – besides the CMR – an electronic accompanying document for excise goods, issued by the sender. Mustard in glass jars is stacked only if the supplier explicitly allows it. Comté and other cheeses travel in a reefer with a set temperature recorded throughout the trip. Parts from Besançon tend to be precise and valuable, so they go direct, without transfer, in a sealed vehicle.
When should you load in Burgundy so goods do not sit over the weekend?
France bans vehicles over 7.5 t from Saturday 22:00 to Sunday 22:00 and from 22:00 on the eve of public holidays; Germany bans them on Sundays and holidays. Goods loaded on Friday afternoon therefore usually arrive on Monday. If the deadline is tight, we schedule the collection for Thursday. During the autumn harvest wineries often load only at limited times, so agree the slot early. Most companies do not load over the lunch break.
Which service fits, and what should you send us?
A few pallets of wine or food are cheapest as groupage from one pallet. From about six pallets a part load pays off, priced by loading metres (1 euro pallet = 0.4 ldm). A full truck takes 33 euro pallets, 13.6 ldm and roughly 24 t. Under EXW or FCA the buyer – you – books the transport; under DAP the supplier does. EU goods move duty-free with a CMR and an invoice or delivery note. For a quote we need:
- the addresses of all suppliers and the delivery point,
- pallet count, weight and whether the pallets can be stacked,
- loading hours and a reference number for each address,
- a temperature requirement for wine in summer or for cheese.
You get a price within 30 minutes during office hours, and after confirmation the vehicle is usually arranged within 24 hours. Since 2011 we have worked with more than 500 vetted contracted carriers. The other regions are listed on our page on transport from France.
Buying wine in Beaune every quarter? We set up regular collections from several wineries at once – see regular transport, or get in touch.
Related guides: Beverage transport · Food transport · Machinery transport