General cargo denotes shipments below a full load – typically 30 to 2,500 kg per item, from the single carton on a half pallet to several euro pallets. Speed Logistics runs general cargo transports via regular scheduled services: your shipment is combined with others, runs to plannable transit times and is billed at a fixed price per pallet or item.
This makes general cargo the most economical solution for regular smaller shipments to customers, plants or warehouses in Germany and Europe. The only thing to factor in is that general cargo is systemically 1–2 days longer en route than a full load – in return you pay only for the load space actually occupied.
When is general cargo the right choice?
General cargo is worthwhile whenever shipments run regularly but in manageable quantities: the weekly spare-part delivery to service partners, palletised trade goods to branches or supplier parts at a fixed rhythm to the assembly plant. Compared with the parcel service, general cargo scores from around 30 kg with pallet-appropriate handling; compared with the part load, with lower costs for small items. Only when a shipment occupies several loading metres or a hard fixed deadline applies are a part load or direct run the better choice – on request we calculate the variants against each other and thus create a robust cost basis for your dispatch decision.
Scope of services in general cargo traffic
- Fixed price per pallet: transparent billing by weight, volume and distance – as non-binding orientation often within a guide value of around €30–150 per item, depending on lane and lead time
- Plannable transit times: fixed scheduled services from Berlin and Germany to the European economic centres
- Shipment tracking: GPS-supported status from pre-carriage to the signed delivery
- Premium handling: secured transhipments and particular care for high-value or sensitive items
- Pharma and temperature-sensitive goods: handling according to GDP requirements via suitable lines on request
How your general cargo transport runs
You register the shipment with packing pieces, dimensions, weight and delivery deadline – by phone or email to our dispatch team. Within a few hours you receive the fixed price. Collection takes place in the pre-carriage, consolidation at the hub, then the shipment goes on the line for the main leg and is delivered in the destination area. At every transhipment the handover is documented; your dispatcher remains the same contact throughout and gets in touch proactively if something changes in the transit-time corridor.
Packaging and load carriers: what matters
Because general cargo is transhipped, the packaging determines the damage rate. Ideal are stable euro pallets with stretch film and edge protection, form-fit packed and without overhang. Please mark non-stackable goods clearly – we take that into account in the loading planning. For sensitive electronics, measurement technology or spare parts we advise you in advance on transport-appropriate packaging or recommend the transhipment-free direct run.
General cargo internationally and to non-EU countries
Beyond the European lines we also organise general-cargo shipments on non-EU lanes, for example to Türkiye – including export declaration and import clearance. For smaller quantities of goods this is considerably cheaper than an exclusive vehicle, and the customs clearance from a single source prevents standing times at the border. Regular non-EU items we bundle on fixed departures so that transit time and price stay calculable.