Mode
Road freight from China
A truck runs from the factory gate to yours, and between loading and unloading nobody touches the cargo again. Rail and sea always add that extra leg — the container still has to reach a terminal and be collected from it.
- TIR crossings
- Zabaykalsk · Pogranichny · Kani-Kurgan · Kraskino
- Corridors
- Direct · Via Kazakhstan · Via Mongolia
- Shipment type
- Full load or groupage
- Typical cargo
- Small lots, top-up orders, marketplace stock
01 — Starting points
When road is the answer
We buy small lots every two or three weeks. A container is more than we need.
Our warehouse is nowhere near a port or a rail terminal.
The order won't fill a container and we can't wait for a groupage load to build.
Last time the truck sat at the crossing and we missed our window.
We clear in Kazakhstan and move the goods on into Russia — we're told the rules have changed.
02 — What is included
What we take on
- 01Choosing the corridor and the shipment typeA dedicated truck is not always dearer than groupage: on a dense load the handling — goods-in, consolidation, deconsolidation — eats the difference. So we price both, even when the answer looks obvious.
- 02Consolidation and preparationWe receive goods from several suppliers at our warehouse in China, check them against the packing list and prepare them for the road. The choice of trailer is settled here too, if the cargo cannot travel cold.
- 03The paperwork for the moveWe put the file together at origin: export declaration, invoice, packing list, CMR. The documents are cross-checked against each other before the truck pulls out.
- 04Eyes on the crossingAdvance information, watching the approach and the crossing itself. If the border stalls or the truck slips, you hear it from us the same day, rather than having to ask where your cargo is.
- 05Customs and the final legDeclaration, calculation and payment of duties, release. Then the Russian leg to your warehouse, because carrying the load through on the same truck is not always possible.
03 — What we do not do
The limits of this mode
- We do not promise a delivery dateReadiness at the factory, traffic at the crossing, a random check and the season all move the number. We give a working figure for your route and the list of things that shift it, but not a date we cannot stand behind.
- We do not move oversize loads without pricing them firstAnything beyond the dimensions or weight of a normal trailer travels on its own terms: a special permit, an agreed route, sometimes an escort. That is worked out beforehand, and it is priced differently.
- We do not load against the documentsIf what is in the truck is not what was declared, it lands on the importer. The mismatch surfaces at the border, and what it costs there bears no comparison to the price of getting the paperwork right.
- We do not move dangerous goods on the quietLithium batteries, aerosols and chemicals need their own preparation: classification by composition, approved packaging, an approved vehicle and an ADR-trained driver. We move such cargo as dangerous goods or we do not move it.
04 — How a shipment runs
What happens to the cargo
Time on a road move is lost at the handovers, not on the road itself: at consolidation, at the border and in clearance. Price the whole chain, not the kilometres.
- 01Choosing the corridorDirect crossings on the Chinese border, the route through Kazakhstan and the route through Mongolia are three different procedures with three different sets of paperwork. The choice comes down to where the factory sits and where the goods are going: queues at the crossings change, geography does not.
- 02Collection and preparationThe cargo is collected from the factory, checked against the packing list and made ready for the road: securing, palletising and, where it matters, an insulated body. A curtainsider is not heated, and for liquids, aerosols and some electronics that is settled before loading.
- 03Loading and paperworkThe export declaration, the invoice, the packing list and the CMR consignment note are drawn up together. They have to agree: a mismatch in description, quantity or weight stops the truck at the border, and it cannot be put right there.
- 04The border crossingAdvance information on the goods is filed no later than two hours before arrival. Where the haulier is authorised to use TIR, the transit runs under a TIR carnet with customs seals, without re-declaring at intermediate borders.
- 05Customs clearanceDeclaration, duties and taxes, release. A declaration filed ahead of arrival gets the goods out faster; without one they go into temporary storage until release, and storage is charged for.
- 06The final legA Chinese haulier may not carry goods between two points inside Russia, so the last leg runs on a Russian vehicle. We build that into the quote in advance, so the change of vehicle is not a surprise at the border.
05 — Responsibility
Who is responsible for what
We are responsible for organising the move and for the documents. The haulier is responsible for the goods in transit, within the limits the CMR sets. Queues at the crossing and decisions by the authorities are outside the control of either of us: they can only be planned for.
On us
- The corridor and the routing chosen for your consignment
- A document file assembled and cross-checked before departure
- Advance information, and eyes on the truck through the crossing
- Customs clearance and delivery to your warehouse
Stays with you
- Goods ready at the factory on the agreed date
- Accurate cargo data: description, weight, composition
- The decision on cargo insurance
06 — Alongside
What people read with this
07 — Questions
What people ask about road freight
Which is quicker, road or rail?
It depends where it is going. Road wins where the consignee sits away from a rail terminal: the truck runs gate to gate, whereas a container still has to be trucked on. Rail earns its keep on the long haul and on volume. The real difference is where each one gets stuck: for a truck it is the queue at the crossing, for rail it is the departure schedule and the bogie change at the border. We price both to your warehouse and show you the gap.
How long does a truck take from China?
The honest answer: it depends on the corridor and on what the border is doing that week. Readiness at the factory, traffic at the crossing, whether the load is picked for a check and the season all move it — the weeks before Chinese New Year behave nothing like March. An average for the lane would mislead you. We give a figure for your shipment together with the list of things that can shift it.
How much fits in one truck?
A standard trailer takes around 80 m³ and roughly 33 Euro pallets, with a payload of up to 22 tonnes. Either limit can bind, and on a dense load the weight is reached before the space is filled: permitted gross weight depends on the number of axles, and automatic weigh-in-motion stations record an overload without stopping the vehicle. So weight and volume are worked out before loading — splitting the consignment across two trucks by design is cheaper than dealing with an overload on the road.
I’m being quoted a rate per kilo. Is that the same thing?
No, and the difference is not the transport but who imports the goods. On a per-kilogram deal your company is not the importer: the declaration and the documents for the shipment stay with whoever brought the goods in, and you are left without them — legally, you never imported anything. Everything else follows from that: the goods cannot go on your books, the Russian import VAT cannot be recovered, retail chains and marketplaces will not take them, and if the consignment is stopped there is nobody to hold to account. We move goods with a named importer, a declaration and a file that stays with you.
What does a TIR carnet give us?
TIR is an international customs transit procedure, and the carnet is the document that runs it: the load travels under customs seals, without unloading or re-declaring at intermediate borders. On the Chinese lane it applies at four crossing points — Zabaykalsk, Pogranichny, Kani-Kurgan and Kraskino — under a Russian Ministry of Finance order of 11 June 2025, in force since 27 September 2025. One qualification matters: TIR attaches to the haulier and to the individual vehicle, not to the cargo. Only an authorised haulier running an approved vehicle can work under a carnet.
We clear in Kazakhstan and move on into Russia. What changed?
Since 1 June 2026 goods brought into Russia from EAEU member states by road go through a prior-notification system. Before the goods move, a notice of the incoming shipment is filed and a security payment covering the expected VAT and excise is made; a QR code issued against it is presented at the border. The deadline is firm: no later than two calendar days before entry. The payment is credited against the tax, but it is made up front, whereas the tax used to fall due after the month closed — a cash-flow shift worth planning for. For the Kazakhstan route the temporary exemption from the payment ended on 30 June 2026. Some categories of importer are exempt; we check whether you are one before you ship.
The cargo was damaged in transit. Who pays?
A road haulier is liable under the CMR only up to a capped amount, and that cap is calculated from the weight of the damaged goods rather than their value. For dense, inexpensive cargo it is enough; for light and valuable cargo it almost never is, and the payout lands well below what you paid for the goods. Cargo insurance closes the gap, and that is precisely why the decision on a policy stays with you: we can price it and arrange it, but choosing to insure a consignment has to be a decision you make with your eyes open.
Where should we clear — at the border or inland?
It depends where your warehouse is and what the goods are. Clearing near the border shortens the time the cargo spends under customs control and gets it released sooner. Clearing at an inland office is easier logistically: the consignment gets nearer the consignee before clearance and there is no rush on the paperwork — under a TIR carnet that happens without re-declaring on the way. We price both and show you the difference in money and in time.
Let us price your road shipment
Tell us the goods, the weight and volume, where the factory is and where it is going. We will come back with a routing: corridor, shipment type, documents and a price — together with what could move the date.