The route determines two thirds of the cost of a shipment. Fuel, tolls, driver hours, waiting time at the border — all of it is built into the kilometres and into how those kilometres are covered. That is why a conversation about cheaper delivery almost never starts with haggling over the rate. It starts with the route itself.
Distance is only the first number
The most common planning mistake is to price a trip by the kilometres shown on a map. The real transit time is made of something else.
Driving and rest times are strictly regulated: no more than 9 hours of driving per day (10 hours twice a week), a mandatory 45-minute break after 4.5 hours behind the wheel, and a daily rest of at least 11 hours. The tachograph records everything and EU fines are counted per violation. Which means 1,200 km is physically two days, whatever a browser calculator promises.
Add border queues, toll sections, city centre access restrictions and seasonal driving bans. In Germany, Austria, France and Italy trucks do not run on Sundays and public holidays — a trip planned without that in mind loses a full day for nothing.
- Driver rules: 9 hours driving, 45-minute break, 11 hours rest
- Border queues: from 2 to 20 hours depending on the crossing and the day
- Sunday driving bans for trucks across most of Western Europe
- Low emission zones in more than 300 EU cities — the wrong emission class means no entry
Groupage or a dedicated van
This single decision delivers the biggest saving — or the biggest delay, if you get it wrong.
Groupage pays off when your volume is under a third of a van. You pay only for the space you occupy and other shippers cover the rest. The price for that is a flexible schedule: the van waits for co-loading, calls at several addresses, and the arrival date moves within a day or two.
A dedicated van makes sense when the deadline is critical, the cargo is fragile or valuable, or when you fill more than half the body. The vehicle runs without detours and the arrival date becomes predictable.
There is a middle option people often forget: a dedicated van with a return load. If you ship into Europe and the carrier finds cargo for the way back, the cost of your leg drops. It is not always possible, but it is always worth asking.
Loading points and what they really cost
Every extra address is not just kilometres, it is hours. Entering an industrial estate, arranging a pass, waiting at the ramp, signing the CMR — in practice one stop takes two to four hours. Three stops instead of one easily turn a one-day leg into a two-day one.
If the addresses sit along the route, they are nearly free. If the van has to detour 150 km and come back, a separate collection is cheaper.
Planning in practice
Load at the start of the week. Cargo that leaves on Monday or Tuesday almost always arrives before the weekend, even from distant lanes. The same cargo loaded on Thursday often sits out the weekend because of driving bans.
Give the carrier a window, not an exact hour. "Loading Wednesday between 8 and 16" gives the planner room to optimise the trip — and that is usually cheaper than "9:00 sharp".
Have the paperwork ready before the van arrives. The most expensive waiting time is the kind that starts when the vehicle is already at the ramp and the invoice is still being agreed.
Declare real dimensions. Cargo that does not fit the volume you booked stops the trip and forces re-documentation, which costs more than ordering the right vehicle in the first place.
What to do with this
Before your next shipment, ask four questions: can loading move to the start of the week, do you really need a dedicated van, do all the stops sit on the route, and is the paperwork ready. The answers usually save more than negotiating the rate.
We plan the route together with driver hours, ferries and toll sections before we quote. That is why the date you hear at the start is a date you can plan around.