Freight forwarding Padua – transport to and from the Czech Republic

The eastern route via Tarvisio

Most traffic from the Czech Republic to western and central Italy crosses the Brenner, but Padua lies on the eastern axis. From Brno the route runs via Mikulov and Vienna on the Austrian A2 to Villach, across the Arnoldstein – Tarvisio border and along the Italian A23 and A4 past Udine and Venice. That is approximately 750–770 km, so a full truck loaded in Padua in the morning usually reaches Brno on the morning of the second working day. Prague is approximately 830 km away, via Linz and Villach or via the Brenner and Verona. Groupage pallets take 3–4 working days.

The eastern route avoids the Tyrolean restrictions on the Brenner, but Austria still bans heavy trucks from Saturday afternoon to Sunday night and restricts night driving. In Italy vehicles over 7.5 t may not run on Sundays and public holidays, nor on some summer Saturdays. Tolls are charged electronically in Austria and at toll gates by distance on Italian motorways.

Industrial zone and rail terminal

On the eastern edge of Padua lies an extensive industrial zone, one of the largest in Italy, with an intermodal terminal where containers and semi-trailers move between rail and road. It handles hundreds of thousands of container units a year. Many warehouses, manufacturers and distributors are therefore located in one area close to the A4 and A13 junctions, and loading tends to be quick and well organised.

Padua and its surroundings produce:

• machinery, equipment and spare parts,
• electrical and electronic equipment,
• metal and plastic components for other industries,
• furniture and interior fittings.

Footwear, ham and wine

Between Padua and Venice, along the Brenta canal, lies the Riviera del Brenta shoe district, known for luxury women's footwear made for fashion houses. Shoes ship in cartons, in modest volumes but at high value, so we recommend a closed box van, a sealed load space and a direct run. Samples and urgent top-ups go by express transport by van, usually next day. Leather, soles and components move in the other direction.

Around Montagnana, in the south of the province, cured ham with protected designation of origin is produced and travels refrigerated. The Euganean Hills south-west of the city produce wine, including a sweet Moscato. Padua also has a large wholesale fruit and vegetable market supplying the whole region. For wine the excise regime and accompanying document need to be clear before loading; for ham and fresh produce, the required temperature.

Groupage across Veneto

Veneto is a region of small and medium-sized firms, and Padua is its logistics centre. A typical Czech order is not one truck from one factory but several pallets from three or four suppliers around Padua, Vicenza, Treviso and Venice. These can be combined into one vehicle with several pick-ups or sent via a groupage depot in Padua, depending on the number of pallets and the distances between suppliers.

Venice, about 40 km east, is Padua's seaport, and containers landed there can also be trucked to the Czech Republic. Padua's historic centre is a limited traffic zone, so trucks load and unload in the industrial area and deliveries to the centre go by smaller vehicle.

Exports and documents

To Padua and Veneto we carry steel and semi-finished metal, plastics, paper, glass, machine parts and timber from the Czech Republic. Italy is in the EU, so a CMR note and an invoice or delivery note are sufficient, plus temperature records for food. See transport to Italy or the calculator for a price.