Freight and Imports from Lyon to the Czech Republic

Why Lyon matters for Czech buyers

The Lyon area is one of France's main industrial hubs. South of the city, along the Rhône, sits a dense cluster of chemical and pharmaceutical plants; the region has a long textile tradition that today focuses on technical fabrics; and the surrounding valleys supply cheese, cured meats and wine. Most of the loads we arrange here travel east, into the Czech Republic or Slovakia. Exports from Czech plants to Lyon are the smaller flow, but they help us find a return load and keep trucks available.

Typical inbound cargo from the Lyon region includes:

• chemical raw materials, additives, paints, coatings and plastic granulate, often in drums or IBC containers,
• pharmaceuticals and laboratory supplies that need a controlled temperature,
• technical textiles, nonwovens, yarn and workwear,
• food and drink: cheese, charcuterie, chocolate, nuts and wine from Beaujolais and the Rhône valley,
• machine components and electrical parts for Czech production lines.

The road: Alsace, southern Germany and Rozvadov

Trucks usually leave Lyon via Besançon, cross the Rhine near Mulhouse or Strasbourg, continue through Karlsruhe, Heilbronn and Nuremberg and enter the Czech Republic at the Waidhaus/Rozvadov crossing on the D5 motorway. The distance to Prague is roughly 1,050–1,100 km. Under EU driving-time rules a single driver normally covers this in 2 working days. The Swiss route via Basel looks shorter on a map, but it means customs transit outside the EU, so we only use it in special cases.

French motorways are tolled at toll plazas and Germany charges a distance-based truck toll; both are already included in the figure shown by our freight calculator. Lyon also runs a low-emission zone. When a pickup is inside it, we book a vehicle with the right emission sticker.

Dangerous goods and temperature control

A large share of chemical shipments from the Rhône valley falls under ADR. We book carriers with ADR-equipped vehicles and certified drivers. Before pickup we need the safety data sheet, UN numbers, hazard classes, packing groups, number of packages and gross weight. See ADR transport for details.

For pharmaceuticals, cheese or wine in hot weather we use temperature-controlled trailers with a continuous data log. Please state the required range, for example +2 to +8 °C or +15 to +25 °C, when you request a quote.

Choosing the service

Up to around ten pallets with a flexible delivery date usually go on our groupage pallet service, which takes about 3–5 working days. Once your cargo fills roughly half the trailer, a dedicated full truck becomes the better option: no cross-docking, fewer touches and delivery in about 2 working days. Urgent samples and spare parts can travel by express van, typically arriving the next day.

Pickup checklist and timing

Industrial and logistics parks lie mainly on the eastern side of Lyon towards the airport, along the Rhône to the south and next to the motorways heading north. Large warehouses have loading docks and booked time slots; smaller manufacturers often load from the side with a forklift. To avoid waiting time, ask your supplier to confirm the exact address and opening hours, whether a dock is available or a tail lift is needed, the number and size of pallets, the load height and the total weight.

France bans heavy trucks from Saturday evening to Sunday evening and on public holidays; Germany bans them on Sundays, holidays and summer Saturdays. A truck loaded in Lyon on Friday therefore normally arrives on Monday, so loading between Monday and Wednesday works best.

No customs apply between France and the Czech Republic. You need a CMR consignment note and an invoice or delivery note, plus an ADR transport document for dangerous goods and a temperature record for reefer loads. For general information on French traffic see transport to France.