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Which transport type fits your consignment?

Choosing the transport type comes down to three questions: how large is the consignment, how urgent is it, and how delicate are the goods? For individual pallets and groupage freight up to around six pallet spaces, groupage transport is the most economical solution — several customers share the loading area and each pays only for the loading metres claimed. From seven or eight pallets the calculation tips: a part load or full load is then usually cheaper and faster, because hub transhipment falls away.

On urgency, four products differ markedly. Standard shipping delivers in one to three business days and is the normal case. Express shipping prioritises the consignment in the network and delivers on the next business day. A direct run uses a dedicated vehicle, departs immediately and has no network schedules to wait for — the fastest but also the most expensive option. Scheduled deliveries, finally, guarantee not speed but an exact point in time, which is the real requirement for trade fair build-ups, construction sites and just-in-time manufacturing.

How delicate the goods are determines the handling. Every hub passage is an additional handling step and therefore an additional risk. For breakable goods, unpackaged machinery or high-value single items, a direct run without transhipment can work out cheaper than groupage plus the risk of damage. Dangerous goods, firearms and valuables are subject to their own rules in any case — these consignments run on specialised products with correspondingly trained drivers.

One more practical point: the three factors interact. A consignment that is both urgent and delicate narrows the sensible options to a direct run, because express shipping still passes through the hub. Conversely, a large but robust and non-urgent consignment belongs in groupage even when the volume looks like a part load. If two of the three factors pull in different directions, describe the consignment to us rather than choosing from the list — the right product is usually obvious in a two-minute conversation.