Prague – Berlin road freight and imports from Berlin to Czechia

The road: D8, Krásný Les and the A13

Trucks between Prague and Berlin take the D8 motorway north past Ústí nad Labem and cross into Germany at Krásný Les / Breitenau. From there the A17 runs to Dresden and the A13 continues through Lusatia to the A10 Berlin ring road. The distance is approximately 350 km, roughly five hours of driving, so a full truck loaded in the morning can be unloaded the same afternoon in either direction. Groupage pallets usually arrive within one to two working days, depending on how the consolidated load is built.

In winter the stretch over the Ore Mountains can be hit by fog, ice and strong crosswinds. When the forecast looks bad we build in extra time and tell you about any change to the delivery slot in advance.

What we bring from Berlin and Brandenburg

Berlin is less a manufacturing city than a distribution and technology hub. Large logistics parks line the A10 ring and supply eastern Germany and neighbouring countries. For buyers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia we most often arrange imports of:

• e-commerce stock and returns: consumer electronics, household goods, clothing,
• pharmaceutical and medical products, often temperature-controlled,
• rail and electrical equipment, switchgear and cabling,
• printed matter, marketing material and trade fair exhibits,
• from Brandenburg: steel products, solar and battery storage components, paper and packaging.

Southbound loads are matched by northbound ones: building materials, glass, machine parts and furniture travel from Czechia to Berlin. Because the lane is busy both ways, a truck for your import is usually found quickly.

Delivering inside Berlin

The area inside the S-Bahn ring is a low emission zone, and only vehicles with the green emission sticker may enter, vans included. We choose the haulier with that in mind. Central addresses often have no loading bay, so a smaller truck with a tail lift works better than a semi-trailer that needs a dock. Out-of-town distribution centres, on the other hand, usually work with booked time slots and will turn away a truck that arrives without one.

Picking the right service

Smaller imports are best sent as pallet transport; if a missing part has stopped your production line, an express van leaves as soon as it is loaded.

Driving bans, holidays and tolls

Germany bans trucks over 7.5 tonnes on Sundays and public holidays, and on selected motorways on summer Saturdays as well. Berlin has a holiday of its own: on 8 March, International Women's Day, most warehouses are closed. Saxony, which the route crosses, adds Reformation Day and the Day of Repentance and Prayer in November. German motorways and federal roads carry a truck toll and Czechia has electronic tolling for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes; both are included in our quote. Within the EU there is no customs duty, so a CMR consignment note and an invoice or delivery note are enough.

Checklist before you book

• exact pickup address with gate or hall number,
• warehouse opening hours and whether a slot must be booked,
• loading dock, side loading or forklift from ground level,
• number, size and weight of pallets and whether they can be stacked,
• the order reference the warehouse needs to release the goods.

Get a price for your shipment in the online calculator; our dispatch team usually sends a non-binding offer within 30 minutes, Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 18:00.