Road freight remains the backbone of trade between Türkiye and its surrounding markets. It offers door-to-door service without intermediate handling, transit times that sea freight cannot match, and costs that make air freight unnecessary for most shipments. For textiles, automotive components, machinery parts, furniture and processed food, the truck is usually the default answer.
We run scheduled services on the European corridors and organise project movements towards the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Which routing suits your shipment depends less on distance than on border throughput, driving-time rules and your receiver's delivery window.
Full load or groupage?
With FTL (Full Truck Load) the trailer carries only your cargo. There is no consolidation hub, no waiting for co-loads, and consequently the lowest risk of damage or delay. From roughly 15 tonnes or 20 pallet spaces, FTL usually wins on price as well.
With LTL (groupage) you pay for the space you actually occupy, charged by loading metre or freight weight. The saving on small volumes is significant, but add one to two days for consolidation and handling. For recurring small quantities a fixed departure schedule often works out better — see shipping rates for how this is calculated.
Corridors and border crossings
Türkiye sits on land borders with eight countries, which is precisely why road freight from here reaches markets that are awkward to serve from anywhere else.
Kapıkule → Bulgaria
Türkiye's largest land border gate and the main door to the EU. High volume also means the widest variation in clearance times; Hamzabeyli serves as the relief crossing.
İpsala → Greece
The direct route to Greece and onward to Italy by ferry. Short transit, useful for Balkan and southern European destinations.
Sarp → Georgia
The gateway to the Caucasus and, via Georgia, to Russia and Central Asia. The only direct land link in that direction.
Habur / Gürbulak
Crossings towards Iraq and Iran. Project-based movements with route and security planning handled case by case.
Transit times to Europe
| Destination | FTL | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria, Greece | 1–3 | Direct crossings, shortest lanes |
| Romania, Serbia | 3–5 | Balkan corridor |
| Germany, Austria, Italy | 4–7 | Balkan route or Ro-Ro via Trieste |
| Netherlands, Belgium, France | 5–8 | Longer road leg after the EU border |
| United Kingdom | 6–9 | Channel crossing plus UK customs formalities |
| Poland, Czechia | 5–8 | Central European corridor |
Ro-Ro: the alternative to the Balkan route
Instead of driving through the Balkans, the trailer can be shipped from Pendik or Ambarlı to Trieste, where an EU tractor unit takes over the road leg. This bypasses the non-EU borders entirely, cuts driving hours and produces a more reliable arrival forecast. When Kapıkule is congested, or when the destination is in southern Germany, Austria or northern Italy, Ro-Ro is frequently the better commercial choice even though the headline transit looks similar.
Equipment
Standard shipments move on curtain-side trailers with 33 Euro pallet capacity, loadable from the side and the top. Mega trailers with around 3 m internal height and up to 100 m³ suit voluminous light cargo such as furniture or packaging. Temperature-controlled goods travel in reefer trailers with recorded temperature data — see cold chain logistics. For heavy or out-of-gauge pieces we use low-bed and specialised equipment.
Dangerous goods move under ADR with equipped vehicles and trained drivers; to quote we need the UN number, class and packing group. Every shipment includes tracking and cargo insurance.
Customs and liability
For EU-bound industrial goods, the Türkiye–EU customs union means no import duty when a valid A.TR certificate accompanies the shipment. Agricultural products and former ECSC goods fall outside it and use EUR.1 instead. For the United Kingdom, the UK–Türkiye free trade agreement provides preferential treatment against proof of origin. Transit across non-EU sections generally runs under a TIR carnet. Our customs clearance team handles these procedures; the customs guide explains the paperwork in detail.
One point worth stating plainly: carrier liability under the CMR Convention is capped at 8.33 SDR per kilogram. For high-value cargo the goods are usually worth considerably more, so separate cargo insurance is not a formality. We raise this on shipments where it matters.
Related services
- Partial load shipping — groupage explained in depth
- Türkiye–Germany, Türkiye–Bulgaria, Türkiye–Romania and other lanes
- Warehousing — consolidation before the main leg
- Last mile delivery — final delivery to the receiver
Frequently asked questions
How long does road freight from Türkiye to Europe take?
Neighbouring markets such as Bulgaria and Greece are typically 1 to 3 working days. Germany, Austria and Italy are usually 4 to 7 working days, the Netherlands and France 5 to 8, and the United Kingdom 6 to 9 including customs formalities. Delays almost always come from border clearance rather than distance, and national driving bans can shift an arrival by a day.
When should I choose Ro-Ro instead of the Balkan route?
When arrival predictability matters more than the lowest rate. Shipping the trailer to Trieste bypasses the non-EU borders, reduces driving hours and gives a firmer ETA. It is often the better choice when Kapıkule is congested, for time-critical shipments, and for destinations in southern Germany, Austria or northern Italy. We compare both options for the specific shipment.
At what volume does a full truck make sense?
As a rule of thumb, from around 15 tonnes or 20 occupied pallet spaces FTL becomes cheaper than groupage. Below that you pay only for the space used in LTL, but should allow one to two extra days for consolidation and handling. For fragile or high-value goods FTL can be the right call below that threshold too, because the cargo is never handled in transit.
Do I pay import duty on goods from Türkiye?
For industrial goods entering the EU, no — the Türkiye–EU customs union removes duty when a valid A.TR certificate is presented. Agricultural products and coal and steel goods fall outside the union and use EUR.1 under separate preferential arrangements. For the United Kingdom the UK–Türkiye free trade agreement applies against proof of origin. Import VAT is charged separately in all cases.
Do you carry ADR dangerous goods?
Yes, with ADR-equipped vehicles and trained drivers. To quote we need the UN number, hazard class, packing group and net quantity per line item. Certain classes and quantities are subject to tunnel restrictions that affect routing, which we clarify before booking rather than at the border.