A freight forwarder in Hamburg for companies without a logistics department
TradeRoute EU arranges sea, air and road freight, customs clearance and warehousing for smaller importers and exporters.
Who we are
TradeRoute EU is a freight forwarder based in Hamburg, Germany. A forwarder does not own the ships, aircraft or trucks. We book space with carriers, prepare and check the paperwork, arrange customs clearance and keep track of the shipment until it is delivered.
Most of what we handle moves between Asia and Germany: sea freight and air freight from China, India and Pakistan to Hamburg, exports from Germany, and road freight across the EU with partner carriers in Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
Who we work for
Small and medium-sized importers and exporters
Many of our customers have no shipping department. The person who books freight is also the buyer, the owner or the office manager. They need someone who explains what an HS code (the customs tariff number for the goods) or an EORI number (the EU registration number for customs) is for, tells them which documents are missing, and says so before the cargo is at the port.
Asian exporters selling to Germany
Manufacturers and trading companies in China, India and Pakistan use us as their contact on the German side. If the sale is agreed DDP (delivered duty paid, where the seller pays freight, duty and import VAT up to the buyer’s door), we arrange transport, customs clearance in Germany and the final delivery.
How we work
One named person
You deal with the same person from the first quote to the delivery note.
A reply to every quote request
We answer every quote request within 24 business hours. If a carrier rate is still outstanding, we tell you what we are waiting for.
Quotes you can check line by line
Freight, origin and destination charges, customs clearance and delivery are listed separately, so you can see what each part costs and compare it with other offers.
Bad news first
Vessels get delayed, containers are rolled to a later sailing, customs asks questions. When something slips, you hear it from us early, together with what we suggest doing about it.
Why Hamburg
Hamburg is Germany’s largest seaport and the place where most container services from Asia call in this country. Being here puts us close to the terminals, the customs offices and the trucking and rail operators that move cargo inland.
The port is also a gateway beyond Germany. Rail and road connections run from Hamburg into Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, so a container unloaded here can travel on to a buyer in Central or Eastern Europe. Goods that are not needed straight away can go into warehousing in Germany first.
What we will not do
- We will not quote a price we cannot hold. If a rate is only valid until a certain date, or depends on details we do not have yet, the quote says so.
- We will not hide surcharges in small print. Charges we know about are in the quote. Costs that can only be confirmed later, such as duty or a customs inspection, are named as open items.
Tell us what you need to move
Send us the route and the cargo details. You will get an itemised quote from a named contact within 24 business hours.
Request a quote