Container pre- and on-carriage from Hamburg and Rotterdam
We collect import containers at the terminal and deliver them to your warehouse, and bring export containers to the terminal before the vessel closes. One fixed price per container move.
- 20′ · 40′ · 45′
- Hamburg · Rotterdam
- Empty return included
Import: from the terminal to your door
Once the box is discharged and released, we book the terminal slot, collect it, deliver it to your address and return the empty to the depot the shipping line names.
- Container number and size type (20, 40, 40 high cube, 45 high cube)
- Release reference from the shipping line or your forwarder (in German: Freistellung)
- Customs status: released for free circulation, or moving under a transit document (T1)
- Delivery address and time window, and whether the container is unloaded while the truck waits
- Gross weight as stated on the bill of lading
Export: from your door to the terminal
We pick up the empty at the depot with your booking reference, bring it to your site for loading and deliver it to the terminal inside the acceptance window for your vessel.
- Booking reference and the release for the empty container
- Loading address, date and time, and how long loading takes
- Verified gross mass (VGM): required by SOLAS before the box can go on board. The shipper is responsible for it, we make sure it reaches the terminal in time.
- Closing time of the vessel at the terminal
Terminals we serve
Hamburg: HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA), Burchardkai (CTB), Tollerort (CTT) and Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg. All Hamburg container terminals have required truck slot booking since November 2017. Booking the slot is part of the job, you do not need to arrange it.
Rotterdam: the container terminals on the Maasvlakte and in the rest of the port. Tell us the terminal named on your release.
Weights and the 44 tonne rule
A standard articulated truck in Germany may weigh up to 40 tonnes. For containers and swap bodies up to 45 feet carried in combined transport, German law allows up to 44 tonnes with a three-axle tractor (§ 34 paragraph 6 number 6 StVZO).
Whether a particular run counts as combined transport depends on the route. We check this before we quote, so you know in advance what the box may weigh.
Heavy 20 foot containers often hit the legal axle loads before the total weight limit. Send the gross weight and we confirm what is possible.
Costs that can arise beyond the freight price
We list these on every quote so nothing comes as a surprise:
- Waiting time at your site beyond the agreed free time for loading or unloading
- Changes to the terminal, depot or address after booking
- Demurrage and detention: charged by the shipping line, not by us, when the container stays out longer than the free days. We tell you as soon as a delay could cause them.
Questions about container transport
Do you handle customs clearance?
We do not file customs declarations ourselves. Your customs broker or forwarder arranges the release, and we need the release reference before pickup. If the container moves under transit, the T1 document must be issued before the truck leaves the terminal.
How much notice do you need?
Ideally two working days before pickup. Short-notice moves are possible when a terminal slot and a suitable truck are free, so ask anyway.
Who returns the empty container?
We do. The empty goes back to the depot named by the shipping line, and we send you confirmation once it has been returned.
Can the container be left at our site?
Tell us when you request the quote. Dropping a container and collecting it later needs a suitable chassis and space on your site, and it changes the price.
Related
A container to move?
Send the container number and both addresses. You get a fixed price for the move.