Freight Transport Prague → Hamburk

Approximately 650 km to the North Sea

For importers in Czechia and Slovakia, Hamburg is first of all the gateway to overseas markets. Germany's largest port handles containers from Asia, the Americas and Africa, and much of the goods stocked in Czech warehouses arrive here by sea. By road the port is approximately 650 km from Prague. Trucks usually take the D8 via Krásný Les, then the A17 and A13 to Berlin and the A24 to Hamburg; if there are closures or heavy traffic around Berlin we route via Leipzig and Magdeburg instead.

Pure driving time is eight to nine hours, which is at the edge of one driver's daily limit. Plan on one to two working days: loading at the port on day one, delivery in Czechia the next morning. An express van can do the run the same day or overnight.

How a container import works

Collecting a box at a Hamburg terminal follows strict rules. Before the truck is sent we check that:

• the shipping line has released the container and the haulier has a valid pickup reference,
• customs clearance is done or a transit document is ready,
• a terminal time slot is booked, because trucks without one are not let in,
• it is clear where and by when the empty container must be returned.

The container can then travel on a chassis all the way to your site, be unloaded there and go back empty to the port or a depot; keep an eye on the free time, after which the shipping line charges detention. Alternatively the goods are transloaded in a Hamburg warehouse onto curtain-side trailers. That suits containers with several consignees, sites without room for a container chassis, or when you want the box returned quickly.

Customs for goods from outside the EU

Non-EU goods must go through import clearance. This can be done in Hamburg, after which the goods travel as normal EU goods, or they move under transit and are cleared at a Czech customs office or bonded warehouse. Clearance is handled by a customs broker, yours or your supplier's, and the importer needs an EORI number. We need to know which procedure applies because it determines the haulier, the paperwork and the delivery point. Typical documents are the bill of lading, commercial invoice, packing list and, for transit, the transit accompanying document.

What comes through Hamburg

Containers mostly carry consumer electronics, clothing and footwear, furniture, toys, sporting goods and tools from Asia. Hamburg is also a historic trading centre with its own industry, so we also bring:

• coffee, cocoa, tea, spices and dried fruit from port warehouses,
• copper, aluminium and other non-ferrous metals,
• aerospace parts and materials,
• chemicals, lubricants and oil products, often as ADR dangerous goods.

In the other direction we deliver Czech export containers with machinery, glass or beer to the terminals.

Options at a glance

Full loads go as truck transport, smaller volumes as pallet transport.

Practical notes

Certain ADR goods are not allowed through the Elbe tunnel on the A7, so they take a detour, which we build into the plan. Hamburg observes Reformation Day on 31 October, when the truck ban applies as on Sundays and many warehouses are closed. Terminals can have long queues at peak times, so book the pickup as soon as the vessel's discharge date is known. Check the price in our calculator; our dispatchers usually reply within 30 minutes.