Road freight
Road freight covers the movement of goods by trailer, including cross-border road movements within Europe and inland legs at either end of an air or sea shipment. It suits palletised goods on predictable corridors.
TCSA reviews your enquiry and helps identify suitable member providers. The appointed provider confirms the scope and quotation.
What this covers
Businesses moving palletised goods across European borders, importers needing an inland leg from a port or airport, and organisations with regular corridor traffic needing a consistent carrier.
Full and part loads
Dedicated trailers against groupage, with the cost crossover explained for the volume involved.
Cross-border road movements
Corridor planning, driver and vehicle documentation, and the border formalities the movement requires.
Inland legs
Collection from a port, airport or terminal and delivery to the final address.
Specialised equipment
Curtain-side, box, refrigerated or flatbed equipment depending on the goods.
Who performs the work: A member haulier or forwarder. TCSA reviews the requirement, confirms corridor coverage and makes the introduction.
Limits: Driving hours, weight limits and vehicle restrictions are set by law and cannot be varied. Where a movement cannot be completed within the permitted hours, the plan accounts for that rather than promising an illegal schedule.
How membership and accreditation differInformation to have ready
None of this is required to send an enquiry. It helps us confirm the appropriate route and the scope faster.
- Collection and delivery addresses
- Pallet count, weights and dimensions
- Whether the goods need temperature control or tail-lift delivery
- Preferred loading and delivery dates and times
- Access restrictions at either address
- Whether the movement crosses a border
What happens next
The same four steps apply whatever the service. Timings are agreed with you rather than promised up front.
- 01
Requirement
You provide the addresses, pallet details and timing.
- 02
Options
Full-load and groupage options are set out with collection windows and transit times.
- 03
Booking
The movement is booked with the agreed equipment and collection slot.
- 04
Delivery
Proof of delivery is captured and passed to you after the run.
What affects the price
Road freight is charged per trailer, per pallet or per kilometre depending on the service. Waiting time, failed collections and access difficulties are chargeable and are identified in the quotation.
Submitting the enquiry is free. The service itself is quoted before any work begins.
The provider who delivers the work sets its own rates. TCSA does not set them.
Where this is available
Confirmed for the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Canada and the United States, with European corridor coverage reviewed case by case.
Availability on a specific lane, site or regime is confirmed during review.
Who handles the work
Member hauliers are matched on corridor experience, equipment availability and the access conditions at both ends of the movement.
Membership of TCSA is not a statutory licence, and neither membership nor accreditation guarantees the performance of any provider. Scope and charges are agreed with you before work begins.
Questions about this service
Related services
Freight forwarding
A freight forwarder arranges the movement of goods across borders — booking space, preparing transport and customs documentation, and coordinating the parties involved. This page covers forwarding as a whole; the transport-mode pages cover air, sea and road in detail.
Transit and temporary movement
Transit procedures move goods under customs control between two points, or into and out of a territory temporarily. The documentation and guarantees are different from an ordinary import, and the movements are usually time-limited.
Warehousing and third-party logistics
Third-party logistics covers storage, pick and pack, and the fulfilment activity around it. It is the commercial counterpart to a customs warehouse: this page covers storage and fulfilment generally, while customs warehousing covers duty-suspended storage specifically.
The process
How an enquiry works
Find customs, freight and trade services through TCSA. Tell us what you need and we will review your enquiry, connect you with suitable member providers, or confirm whether TCSA can deliver the service directly. Submitting an enquiry does not book work or accept a quotation, and does not guarantee that a provider is available.
- 01
Choose a service and tell us what you need
Pick the service that fits and describe the requirement. It takes a couple of minutes.
- 02
TCSA reviews the requirement
We confirm the appropriate next step: a member provider, a TCSA-delivered service, or a managed sourcing process.
- 03
The agreed route responds
Suitable member providers or the TCSA team respond according to the route you agreed to.
- 04
You decide whether to proceed
Review the scope, the provider and the pricing before committing to anything.
Membership
What members get on services
You do not need to be a member to enquire. Membership changes the rate you pay and the way opportunities are routed to you as a provider.
For buyers
- Preferential rates on eligible services, confirmed with your quotation.
- Eligibility checked against your membership record, not a self-declaration.
- One enquiry route covering customs, freight, compliance and inspections.
For member providers
- Enquiries matched to your stated services, countries and language capability.
- Only enquiries you are assigned to are visible to you, in the Member Portal.
- Your details are shared only where the customer has permitted it.
Buying a service has no bearing on accreditation. Accreditation is assessed separately against published criteria.