International transport by trucks A truck, sometimes called a Eurotruck, is the unofficial name for a heavy-duty vehicle that consists of two main components - a tractor and a semi-trailer.
International transportation by trucks is the main activity of transport companies. The key technical characteristic of a tractor is considered to be engine power, which is designed to transport a large weight of products. For a semi-trailer, the key parameter is the volume of cargo transported.
Most often, in the classic version, a tilt version of a semi-trailer or a curtain side is used for cargo transportation by trucks. Depending on the choice of semi-trailer, transportation by trucks allows a body volume of 60 to 105 cubic meters. Leading transport companies can offer vehicles that are equipped with modern GPS monitoring systems and comply with the Euro-5 environmental standard for organizing truck transportation to Europe.
Services for international cargo transportation
To organize the transportation of goods to Europe, you need to decide on the ultimate goal of your task. A professional transport company will help you organize the transportation of products taking into account your wishes and requirements, while specialists are guided in their work by the regulatory provisions of the legislation of Russia, as well as the European countries where the transport will take place.
The cost of transporting goods by truck includes both basic services and additional work that are necessary for the prompt and safe transportation of products to Europe:
- Assistance in choosing the appropriate type of transport, taking into account the main characteristics of your cargo;
- Current and competitive prices for all types of work required for transportation;
- Providing assistance in cargo insurance;
- Customs clearance of products;
- Loading and unloading operations;
- Forwarding services.
To place an order, it is recommended to use the online application form, where you will have access to information about the characteristics of the vehicle, as well as the preliminary cost of cargo transportation on a truck, taking into account delivery to a specific region of Europe.
Traffic jams from trucks on the border of Belarus and Lithuania: drivers wait in line for about a week
When is the traffic jam likely to clear, what does business say, and how will the current situation affect prices for various goods?
Photo: Yuri Smityuk/TASS
Serious traffic jams remain on exits from Belarus to EU countries. Transport companies published a video filmed at the Lithuanian border crossing Šalcinkai. In the video in accelerated mode there is a large traffic jam of trucks.
Trucker Igor Pasynkov is mainly engaged in domestic transportation. But, of course, he communicates with colleagues who travel abroad. Those who cross it in the Leningrad region, according to the driver, have no problems. As for the Belarusian border, as Igor Pasynkov says, less contraband will be brought in. He himself is worried about spare parts that come to Russia from Europe, and even without taking into account traffic jams, they may soon become more expensive:
“The apples from Poland that we have should still be destroyed - they will certainly be hit. Contraband products that are subject to destruction in accordance with counter-sanctions. From what I come across, these are spare parts. Spare parts are brought from Europe. They will jump up and very thoroughly if this is serious and for a long time. We are still expecting that it will grow by about 10 percent in the near future, because the dollar just unexpectedly grew so little.”
Over the weekend, the community of top managers of logistics companies, abbreviated STMLK, published an open letter to customers and partners. The association recalls that at the end of last year, the Polish authorities closed one of the checkpoints on the border with Belarus. Because of this, carriers redirected cars to other transit countries, including Lithuania. This in itself has led to queues in which drivers spend a week or more.
And besides, Lithuanian customs officials decided to change the software right now. As a result, a technical failure occurred. The system does not work; customs officers fill out documents manually. And they promised to fix the glitch only on Tuesday. But the cork will dissolve only after time. And soon the flow from the EU will increase - flowers will be delivered for Russian holidays, notes STMLK board member, co-owner Ekaterina Lazutkina:
Ekaterina Lazutkina, member of the board of STMLK, co-owner “Even if the system works, it will take some time for all this to resolve - all this traffic jam that is standing. I think it's at least two weeks. There is a big shortage of cars from Europe to Russia, because there are a lot of cars in the queue. Now, closer to the holidays, by March 8, there will be a very large flow, because flowers will come from Europe, and the growth will be one hundred percent. But this is always a seasonal increase by March 8.”
As the companies say, previously the cost of sending a car from Vilnius to Moscow was 1200-1500 euros. Now the rate reaches 6 thousand in European currency. This includes payment for downtime and driver salaries. Mechanical engineering products, chemicals, textiles, cars and the above-mentioned components are imported from the EU to Russia. Traffic jams at the borders have not yet affected prices, but no one knows how long the traffic jam will last, says Vladimir Tyan, managing director of the group:
Vladimir Tyan Managing Director of the group “Nobody can say this. If a product is sensitive to price increases - seasonal or otherwise, then importers will probably try to maintain the price for as long as possible, or at least make sure that this increase is smooth. But, in general, since no one sees an outcome in this situation, of course, there will be growth. If it were clear when it would end, we could still be patient.”
According to the Belarusian border service, less than 60% of the vehicles' capacity entered Lithuania over the weekend. According to information on Monday, about 3 thousand trucks have accumulated at the border. And if we talk about the total number of trucks on the borders of Belarus with EU countries - more than 5 thousand.
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How to correctly place an order for cargo transportation in Europe
In order for the transport company to quickly solve your problem for transportation to Europe from Russia by truck, it is necessary to provide objective information on your products and other requirements:
- An accurate description of the cargo, indicating physical characteristics, volume of goods, packaging option.
- The final point of cargo delivery. This information will allow you to determine the best option for driving your car across European countries.
- Information on delivery times, including taking into account the characteristics of the cargo (perishable goods, non-food group, etc.).
- Preparation of documentation - for customs, insurance (you need to clarify who will deal with these issues - you yourself or specialists from the transport company).
- Additional information that may affect international cargo transportation by trucks, for example, whether there is a need to organize cargo security and forwarding.
What you need to pay attention to when organizing cargo transportation by trucks to Europe
Please note that transporting cargo by truck to Europe requires compliance with customs and border control formalities both in Russia and in the countries where the vehicle is traveling. For some European countries, the standards of the European Union apply, as well as the combined regulatory provisions of national legislation in the field of transportation of products.
Transport company specialists will help you quickly resolve all issues with transportation in Europe, where you can get help, how to properly prepare documentation and in accordance with the legislation of European countries, as well as the procedure for packaging products, as required by the legislation of European countries.
In most cases, professional transport companies offer an individual solution for transporting goods to European countries where there are no roads, or there is an additional transportation option, in particular, air, rail, sea or river. In each specific case, the client is promptly informed about the transportation of cargo to its destination.
Gas and electricity: European trucks at the Comtrans exhibition
At the Comtrans exhibition currently taking place in Moscow, not all brands were represented - Scania skipped the exhibition, and Mercedes showed only light-tonnage vehicles. However, the rest of the Europeans were at the exhibition - let's talk about them.
The trends identified at last year's IAA exhibition in Hannover have reached Russia. The entire European freight world is actively involved in the fight for the environment through the use of alternative fuels, or even the introduction of electric vehicles to the market.
Electric MAN eTGM trucks are now undergoing test operation in Germany
The same MAN brought its all-electric eTGM to Comtrans - we have talked about this car several times. A 26-ton truck with lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 185 kWh is capable of accelerating to 85 km/h. The declared range on one charge is 160 km, but the real one, according to our measurements, does not reach even a hundred. MAN brought this car to Russia as an “exhibition of achievements” - there are no plans to deliver such equipment to us yet.
MAN TGE vans should appear in Russia next year, but it is unlikely that the electric version shown at the exhibition will be in the lineup for our market
How can we not see electric light-duty MAN eTGE vans in the near future? One such van with a claimed range of 160 km was also on display at the company’s stand. But its more traditional diesel analogues should finally enter the Russian market next year.
The Vera drone was surrounded by a fence - apparently so that it would not leave the stand itself
There are several new products at the Volvo stand and the only real concept at the exhibition - an unmanned electric tractor called Vera. We have also already written about this miracle of technology. All elements of its chassis are borrowed from the serial electric Volvo FM and FE models. The device is oriented in space using sensors and radars, and it is designed primarily for short runs at low speeds. True, when the unmanned future will come, and especially how much it will cost, is not specified.
The gas-diesel engine of the environmentally friendly Volvo FH tractor produces 460 hp.
But the blue Volvo FH LNG tractor (in the title photo) is already a production vehicle. It is equipped with a 13-liter 460-horsepower unit that uses liquefied methane as fuel. The cryogenic tank on the left side contains a little more than 200 liters of liquefied methane, but why does this tractor need a 170-liter diesel fuel tank on the right?
The cryotank is designed for 200 liters of liquefied methane
The fact is that the engine of this Volvo operates on a compression ignition cycle - for this, a little diesel fuel is injected into the combustion chamber before methane is supplied (you can read more about how the system works here). The declared power reserve is under a thousand kilometers. It is clear that such a complex tractor cannot be cheap - in our market it will cost about 170 thousand euros.
This is much more than even the recently presented handsome FH16 with an “XXL size” cabin, which we also already talked about. Thanks to the rear wall of the cabin moved back 25 cm, the volume of internal space has increased by 600 liters - the bed has become the same 25 cm wider and more comfortable. This XXL costs about 120 thousand euros.
This all-wheel drive can haul a 100-tonne road train
A separate topic is the FMX all-wheel drive tractor with a 6x6 wheel arrangement. The vehicle with a 460-horsepower diesel engine and an automated 12-speed I-Shift transmission is designed for a total train weight of 100 tons. Similar tractors are already in use in a number of northern regions of our country, despite the price of this monster being 127 thousand euros.
The gearbox of this Renault dump truck is specially reinforced for harsh operating conditions and has two creeping gears
By the way, the all-wheel drive dump truck of the sister company Renault K series looks no less menacing. A three-axle truck with a 16-cc Wielton body, a 440-horsepower engine and an Optidriver automated transmission is estimated at 145 thousand euros.
IVECO Stralis NP is available in both LNG and CNG versions
IVECO continues the environmental theme. The Italians did not deliver the new generation S-Way tractor to us, but they showed us the gas Stralis NP, the engine of which (what a surprise!) also runs on liquefied natural gas - Fyodor Lapshin drove a similar tractor several years ago. The car is equipped with a 13-liter gas unit with a capacity of 460 hp. Using more than 500 kilograms of liquefied methane in two cryogenic tanks, a road train with such a tractor can travel up to 1,600 km. Ivekovites are ready to sell such cars in Russia too - if only there was infrastructure! The Stralis NP LNG costs less than a similar Volvo - 145 thousand euros.
DAF XF with timber superstructure is impressive, but painfully expensive
I approached the DAF exhibition more traditionally. The beauties of the XF family sported a variety of add-ons. The three-axle log carrier with a 483-horsepower PACCAR engine and ZF Traxon transmission looked especially striking. However, this machine with the Loglift installation is not cheap - 220 thousand euros.
The newcomer Ford F-Max compared to its predecessor, the Cargo model
Ford brought its Truck of the Year to the show - the new F-Max. Production of these tractors started at the Avtotor plant in Kaliningrad. The engine of this car develops 500 hp, and the gearbox is the same “robot” ZF Traxon. A tractor with a spacious high cabin in our market costs less than six million rubles.
I can’t even believe that before Luidor’s modifications, this handsome bus was an ordinary van
As we have already said, the Mercedes truck did not come to the exhibition. But the “van” department showed many “variations” on the theme of the new Sprinter. One of them was a passenger minibus “tourist”, converted by the Luidor company. It was based on a richly equipped van with a display on the front panel and electronic assistants.
The interior features leather seats and LED lighting.
The cabin features leather chairs in coffee tones, LED lighting, additional air conditioning and convenient shelves for hand luggage. A similar car costs 4.7 million rubles.
