Freight forwarding Zlín – road transport, import and export

A shoe town turned industrial hub

Zlín grew in the 20th century around a large footwear industry, and its red-brick functionalist buildings still define the city. Many former factory blocks now house offices, a university and warehouses – sometimes with limited room for a trailer to turn, so access is worth checking in advance. The city stretches along the narrow valley of the Dřevnice river, with road I/49 as its main artery. To the west it meets the D55 at Otrokovice and the D1 at Hulín. Brno is about 100 km away and Prague about 300 km, so a truck loaded in the morning reaches Prague the same afternoon. We avoid peak hours on the I/49, when traffic through the city slows down.

Products of the region

Otrokovice is known for tyres, rubber goods, plastics and chemicals, as well as light aircraft production. Zlín itself makes machinery, plastics, footwear, medical products and food. Wallachia to the east contributes electrical engineering, furniture – including bentwood chairs – glass and wood products. Vizovice is famous for fruit brandy, especially plum brandy, and Slovácko around Uherské Hradiště for wine, engineering and aircraft manufacturing in Kunovice.

The region's exports go mainly to Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Austria and Italy. Its imports are dominated by raw materials:

• natural rubber, carbon black and other inputs for tyres, shipped in via Hamburg, Rotterdam or Koper,
• plastic granulate and chemicals from Germany, Poland and Italy,
• steel, castings, bearings and drives for machine builders,
• fittings, boards and upholstery materials for furniture makers,
• seasonal fruit for processing from Spain, Italy or Poland.

Routes into Slovakia

The Zlín region borders Slovakia across the White Carpathians. Loads for northern and eastern Slovakia take the I/49 via Vizovice to the Střelná/Lysá pod Makytou crossing and on to Púchov and the Slovak D1; the planned D49 motorway is meant to link Hulín directly with the border one day. Trenčín and central Slovakia are reached via the I/50 and Starý Hrozenkov/Drietoma, Bratislava usually via Břeclav and the D2. Slovakia charges an electronic truck toll and bans heavy trucks for most of Sundays and public holidays; as both countries are in the EU and the eurozone, there are no customs formalities. More on transport to Slovakia.

Matching the vehicle to the goods

Tyres are bulky but light, so they usually travel as full loads in high-volume trucks; smaller batches can go loose or palletised by groupage. Machinery and furniture travel best as a full truckload without transhipment. Wine and spirits need solid packaging, a chilled vehicle in summer and attention to excise documents when leaving Czechia. Chemicals, paints and adhesives often require an ADR-certified carrier.

Austria, Germany and Italy

The shortest way south runs via Břeclav or Brno and the Mikulov/Drasenhofen crossing to Vienna, then over the Alps to Italy or along Austrian motorways towards Bavaria. Germany can also be reached via Prague and the D5 or D8. Nuremberg and Munich are roughly 600–700 km away, so a full load usually arrives the next working day. Both Austria and Germany ban trucks on weekends and public holidays, and Austria also restricts noisy trucks at night, so Friday loadings need careful planning.

Before you book

Tell us the loading and delivery addresses, warehouse hours, pallet count and dimensions, weight and whether a dock is available. Within the EU a CMR note and an invoice or delivery note are sufficient. Use the calculator for an indicative price; on working days we usually reply with a quote within 30 minutes.