We arrange freight from Rouen and Le Havre to the Czech Republic, usually in 2–3 days from loading – whether it is cargo from a deep-sea container, paper reels from the Seine valley or a few pallets from a Normandy warehouse. Rouen is about 1,200 km from Prague and roughly 1,400 km from Brno, and we deliver to any address in the Czech Republic or Slovakia. Full trucks, part loads and groupage from a single pallet are all possible.
Which parts of Normandy do we collect from, and what do they ship?
The Seine estuary is where overseas imports meet local production, and the pick-up point decides which vehicle we book:
| Pick-up area | Typical goods | What we plan for |
|---|---|---|
| Le Havre: Port 2000 terminals and port warehouses | cargo from deep-sea containers from Asia and the Americas | collection only after release, within the terminal slot |
| Rouen and Grand-Couronne | paper, board, packaging, grain products, distribution stock | paper reels go on a side-loaded curtainsider |
| Évreux and the Eure valley | pharmaceuticals and cosmetics | often with a set temperature range, reefer with temperature logging |
| Caen and Calvados | automotive parts, electronics, food | easily combined with a Rouen pick-up on the way east |
| Rural Normandy | butter, cream, cheese, scutched flax in bales | dairy chilled; flax planned by loading metres |
What has to happen to a container in Le Havre before the truck leaves?
For overseas goods, import clearance comes first. The importer's customs agent handles it, either in Le Havre or under a transit procedure to a Czech customs office. Once the box is released, the choice is between hauling it on a chassis all the way or emptying it into a curtainsider at a port warehouse. Over more than a thousand kilometres, transloading usually wins: the empty box stays in the port, no extra free days run at the shipping line, and a curtainsider holds 33 euro pallets – more than a 40-foot container. Floor-loaded cartons can be palletised in the warehouse, which makes unloading at your site quick. Hauling the sealed box through makes sense mainly for high-value goods or when the consignee specifically wants the container.
Which route does the truck take, and how many days should you allow?
From Le Havre and Rouen the truck skirts Paris to the north: A29 past Amiens, A26 to Reims and A4 via Metz to Saarbrücken, then the German A6 via Mannheim and Nuremberg to the Waidhaus/Rozvadov crossing and the D5 through Plzeň to Prague. Loads for Moravia continue on the D1. French péage, German Maut and Czech tolls are included in the price. We plan around the bans on vehicles over 7.5 t: in France from Saturday 22:00 to Sunday 22:00 and from 22:00 on the eve of a public holiday, in Germany on Sundays and holidays from 0:00 to 22:00. Goods loaded Monday to Wednesday usually reach you the same week; a Friday loading normally arrives on Tuesday. If a container is only released on a Friday, transloading it that same day saves free time at the line.
Groupage, part load or a full trailer?
A full truck takes 33 euro pallets – 13.6 loading metres and around 24 t – and one euro pallet takes up 0.4 m. For a handful of pallets, groupage from one pallet is the right fit; for a quarter to half a trailer, a part load where you pay only for the metres used. Paper tends to hit the weight limit first, while flax and cartons fill the space long before. If you buy from several suppliers in the region – a warehouse in Rouen and a manufacturer in Caen, say – we load them one after the other into the same vehicle and you receive a single delivery. Normandy warehouses mostly load on weekdays from morning to mid-afternoon, and nearly all of them work with booked slots (rendez-vous); the driver checks in at the gate with the loading reference.
Who books the transport, and which documents travel with it?
Under EXW or FCA the buyer arranges carriage, so you book us and we agree the loading time directly with the supplier or warehouse in Normandy. Under DAP the French seller takes care of it. EU goods move without customs on a CMR consignment note with an invoice or delivery note. For overseas cargo from a container, the papers issued by the importer's customs agent travel with the load. For the country-wide picture, see our page on transport from France.
What to send for a Normandy quote
- container number, size and release date – or the pallet count, loading metres and weight,
- terminal or warehouse address, its opening hours and the loading reference,
- the delivery address in the Czech Republic or Slovakia and the date you need it,
- the temperature range for dairy or pharma, and whether the container should be transloaded.
You will have a price within 30 minutes during office hours, and after confirmation the vehicle is usually arranged within 24 hours. We have been organising road freight since 2011 with a network of over 500 vetted contracted carriers. If you also load elsewhere in northern France, see the pages on Paris, Lille and, further west, Nantes; more cities in the region are listed below the article.
Importing containers through Le Havre every month? We can turn them into a regular transloading and delivery flow with return loads to Normandy – see regular transport, or send us your schedule.
Related guides: Importing goods from the EU · Paper and packaging transport · Preparing pallets