Türkiye is one of Germany's most important trading partners outside the EU – and a lane on which customs expertise counts just as much as driving time. Speed Logistics runs Germany–Türkiye as a direct transport via the Balkan corridor through Bulgaria and the Kapıkule border crossing near Edirne: around 2,200 kilometres, transit time 5–7 working days including customs clearance. Alternatively we load your shipment Ro-Ro from Trieste to Mersin – sensible for south-eastern Anatolia and to avoid border waiting times.
We serve Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Adana regularly, and any other address on request. You receive a fixed-price quote within a few hours – for the complete chain from pick-up in Germany to cleared delivery, from EXW to DDP.
The Balkan corridor in practice
The land route runs via Hungary and Serbia, or alternatively via Romania, into Bulgaria; from Sofia both variants converge on Kapıkule, the largest land border crossing between the EU and Türkiye. Kapıkule is at the same time the bottleneck of the lane: waiting times fluctuate strongly by season, especially before the religious holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha and in the summer months, when holiday traffic and export peaks coincide. We factor in these windows, keep our drivers informed of the current border situation and, where needed, switch to the neighbouring Hamzabeyli crossing. Anyone wanting to bypass Kapıkule entirely loads Ro-Ro from Trieste.
Customs clearance: using the EU–Türkiye customs union correctly
A customs union for industrial goods exists between the EU and Türkiye: with the A.TR movement certificate, industrial goods are in principle duty-free on import – regardless of the origin of the goods, as long as they are in free circulation. Agricultural products and certain coal and steel goods do not fall under the customs union and require preferential proof such as EUR.1. Türkiye is also a contracting party to the common transit procedure (NCTS), so shipments with a T1 document run through to the Turkish office of destination without being cleared anew at each internal border. We prepare the export declaration, A.TR and transit papers, check the commercial invoice and packing list for consistency and coordinate the import clearance with the consignee or its customs agent – so your shipment passes Kapıkule without avoidable standstill. Our field report on the Berlin–Istanbul corridor describes the process.
Services for your Türkiye transports
- Direct transport (FTL) via the Balkan corridor, from a van to a 40 t articulated truck
- Ro-Ro traffic Trieste–Mersin for full truckloads towards southern and eastern Anatolia
- Part loads on the regular Türkiye departures
- Complete customs handling: export declaration, T1 transit procedure, A.TR movement certificate, import coordination
- Premium handling for machinery, electronics and high-value trade goods
Overland or Ro-Ro – two ways to Türkiye
The direct transport via Austria/Hungary, Serbia or Romania and Bulgaria is, at 5–7 working days, the standard solution for western Anatolia and the greater Istanbul area. For Mersin, Adana and the south-east, Ro-Ro loading Trieste–Mersin is often more economical and more predictable: the trailer travels accompanied or unaccompanied by ship, with on-carriage by a Turkish tractor unit – saving driving hours and fully bypassing the Balkan borders. For very urgent or high-value part quantities we add air freight from Frankfurt; heavy, non-time-critical cargo can go by sea freight from the northern German ports. We cost the suitable variants and recommend the most economical one for your shipment.
Goods, packaging and Incoterms
On the Türkiye lane we run series parts and tools for the automotive plants around Bursa and Izmit, machinery and plant for industrial production, and textiles and trade goods in both directions. For industrial goods, transport-secure palletisation with ISPM-15-compliant packaging timber is recommended; we secure machinery with tested lashing equipment according to recognised load-securing rules. On delivery terms, DAP or DDP often proves worthwhile for sellers, because the A.TR logic and import clearance then remain in one hand; anyone preferring EXW or FCA still receives the full export documentation from us. We build return loads from Turkish exporters into round trips – which improves conditions in both directions.
Express and plannable scheduled traffic
When speed is essential, we run Türkiye with a two-driver crew: the vehicle keeps moving without a rest break and reaches Istanbul in a considerably shortened transit time – provided the customs papers are complete in advance, because at Kapıkule document quality decides between hours and days. That is precisely why every Türkiye transport with us begins with a document check before loading. For regular traffic we set up fixed weekly departures with a well-practised customs routine: the same processes, familiar contacts at the customs agent, reliable transit times. Combined with return loads, a plannable line connection emerges – more economical and more stable than spot traffic, especially in times of fluctuating ferry and border capacities. Our dispatch team is reachable round the clock throughout, even when the truck is standing at the border at night.
Direct transport or groupage – the right choice
For urgent, high-value or time-critical shipments the direct transport is unbeatable: one vehicle, one load, no transhipment points at which time and security are lost. Anyone shipping individual pallets without a fixed delivery day, by contrast, travels more economically with a part or groupage load on our regular Türkiye departures. We weigh both options transparently against each other and also take account of the customs timing: with groupage, several shipments share one transit procedure, which bundles the clearance at Kapıkule but leaves less flexibility on the delivery date. For automotive just-in-time needs, spare parts and machinery with an assembly deadline, we generally recommend the direct transport with a fixed slot commitment – also because only this way can the transit time across the Balkans be reliably controlled.
How such an order works in concrete terms is shown in our case study Berlin–Istanbul (express direct transport).
Concrete key data on the lane can be found on our route page Germany–Türkiye.