Freight forwarding Brescia – transport to and from the Czech Republic

A metal province

The province of Brescia is the heart of Italian electric arc furnace steelmaking, turning scrap into long products such as reinforcing bar, mesh, wire rod, bars and sections. Around the mills sit forges, foundries and machine shops supplying forgings and castings to the automotive and engineering industries. The valleys north of the city, especially the Lumezzane area, are known for brass: rods, valves, taps, mixers, pipe fittings and kitchenware all come from there.

Typical northbound loads for Czech customers:

• rebar, mesh, wire and rolled sections for construction and steel stockholders
• brass rods and semi-finished products for machining shops
• ball valves, fittings and taps for plumbing wholesalers
• forgings, castings and machined parts for automotive and machinery plants
• Franciacorta sparkling wine, Lake Garda olive oil and Grana Padano cheese

Southbound we move Czech machinery and components, sheet metal, glass, paper and packaging, timber and pallets, beer and furniture. Combining imports and exports into a round trip suits carriers well, which makes regular traffic in both directions easier to plan.

Weight, not volume

Most freight from Brescia reaches the legal weight limit long before the trailer is full. We plan full loads around a payload of roughly 24 tonnes and need the exact weight of every item, not just the pallet count. Steel coils need a coil-well trailer and proper lashing; long bars and sections are loaded from above or from the side by crane or forklift, so a curtainsider with a sliding roof is the usual choice. A few pallets of valves or fittings are best sent by pallet groupage, provided they are packed in strong cartons or crates. For industrial chemicals, paints or oils we book carriers equipped for ADR transport.

Route and transit time

Brescia sits on the A4 motorway between Milan and Venice, where the A21 from Piacenza and Turin joins and the A35 offers a fast link to Milan. Trucks bound for Bohemia take the A4 about 65 km east to Verona, then the A22 over the Brenner Pass, through Innsbruck and Kufstein, past Munich to the Waidhaus – Rozvadov border. Prague is roughly 800 km away, and a full truck with one driver usually unloads on the second working day after collection. Brno is about 860 km by road, often via Venice, Tarvisio, Villach and Vienna. Groupage takes three to five working days.

Along the way: Italian bans for trucks over 7.5 t on Sundays and public holidays and on some summer Saturdays, Austrian weekend and night restrictions, the German Sunday ban, and on busy days block clearance of trucks near Kufstein in Tyrol. Italian motorway tolls are paid by distance at toll plazas, Austrian and German tolls electronically.

Collection tips

• Steel mills and stockholders work with fixed loading slots and queues, so we confirm the time in advance.
• Drivers must carry enough straps, chains and anti-slip mats, or they will not be loaded.
• Brass and fittings are small but heavy: we insist on sturdy crates or cartons on pallets so nothing is damaged at the depots.
• For an urgent spare part for a stopped production line, an express van loads in the morning and delivers in the Czech Republic the next day.
• The historic centre of Brescia is a limited traffic zone (ZTL); mills and warehouses are outside it along the motorways and ring roads.

Italy is in the EU, so there is no customs clearance: a CMR consignment note and an invoice or delivery note are enough, plus a mill inspection certificate where required. For wine we check whether an excise accompanying document is needed. See also transport to Italy and get a quote in the calculator.