Est. 1996. One contact per shipment, every time.
Est. 1996. One contact per shipment, every time.
EUROPEAN ROAD FREIGHT
Plexus Freight is a one-stop shop for sea, air, road, and rail freight. We coordinate road freight from the UK to Europe, managing FTL shipping, LTL freight, groupage, and time-critical cargo across 14 countries. A two-generation family-owned business operating since 1996. B2B commercial cargo only. We do not handle personal effects or household moves.
Road Freight Services
One named contact manages your consignment from booking to delivery, whatever the load size or urgency.
Sole use of a dedicated trailer from UK collection to European delivery.
Pay only for the space your cargo occupies on a shared trailer.
Same-day, next-day, 48-hour and 72-hour services across Europe.
Operating as your dedicated road freight forwarding partner, our Portishead team manages oversized machinery and industrial components. We coordinate specialist vehicles, precision route planning, and abnormal load permits globally.
FTL, LTL and groupage available on every lane below. Transit times are indicative for FTL movements collected from the Bristol and South West region. Post-Brexit customs documentation is included as standard on every route, filed via our dedicated Felixstowe agents before the vehicle departs for protected road freight transport.
Cost, Liability and Insurance
Road freight cost, CMR liability and cargo insurance explained by our Portishead team before your consignment moves.
Road freight pricing depends on service type, lane, cargo weight and volume, and applicable surcharges. FTL movements are priced as a flat rate per trailer. LTL and groupage movements are priced per pallet, per linear metre or per tonne, whichever applies to the carrier and lane. A fuel surcharge is applied to all movements and adjusted in line with diesel prices. Post-Brexit customs documentation costs are itemised separately and confirmed at the quotation stage. Our Portishead team includes a full cost breakdown in every quotation. The figure you approve is the figure you pay.
Under the CMR Convention, which governs all cross-border road freight in Europe, the haulier's liability for loss or damage is capped at 8.33 SDR per kilogram of gross weight. At current rates this equates to approximately £8.50 to £9.00 per kilogram. For a 500 kg consignment worth £40,000, the maximum recoverable under CMR alone is approximately £4,500. The remaining £35,500 is your exposure unless you have arranged separate cargo insurance. Our Portishead team advises on the CMR liability position for your specific consignment at the point of quotation.
CMR liability is not cargo insurance. It is a contractual cap on what the haulier owes you. It does not cover the full commercial value of your cargo and does not protect against every category of loss. All-risks cargo insurance covers the full declared commercial value of your consignment from UK collection to European delivery. Our Portishead team recommends it for every road freight consignment, particularly for high-value goods, out-of-gauge cargo and time-critical movements. Ask for a cargo insurance quote when you enquire.
POST-BREXIT COMPLIANCE
We do not offer standalone customs clearance. We provide customs coordination exclusively alongside your physical road freight movements via our trusted third-party agents at Felixstowe, ensuring complete border compliance.
We coordinate export declarations and T1 transit documents alongside your physical European road freight shipments.
Our Felixstowe partners file import entries for your road freight transport, handling duties and VAT.
Our Portishead team reviews trade preferences and compliance documents exclusively for the commercial cargo movements we manage.
Find answers to common questions about our air freight services
Road freight transit times depend on the destination, collection postcode and whether you’re shipping FTL, LTL or groupage. Typical transit times are 1–2 working days for France and Ireland, 2–5 working days for Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands, and 6–10 working days for Turkey. For urgent shipments, our 2-driver express service is available on key European routes. We’ll confirm the exact transit time for your shipment when you enquire.
Groupage consolidates your cargo with other shippers on a shared trailer. You pay only for the space your cargo occupies. Groupage services operate on fixed weekly departure schedules and typically take 1 to 2 working days longer than equivalent FTL movements on the same lane.
FTL movements are priced as a flat rate per trailer. LTL and groupage are priced per pallet, per linear metre or per tonne, whichever applies. A fuel surcharge applies to all movements. Post-Brexit customs costs are itemised separately. Our Portishead team provides a full all-in cost breakdown at the quotation stage. The figure you approve is the figure you pay.
Under the CMR Convention, the haulier's liability is capped at 8.33 SDR per kilogram of gross weight, approximately £8.50 to £9.00 per kilogram at current rates. For most commercial cargo this falls well below the actual value of the goods. Our Portishead team strongly recommends all-risks cargo insurance on every European road freight consignment.
Yes. Since January 2021, every UK to EU road freight movement requires customs declarations in both directions, regardless of cargo value or shipping frequency. Our Portishead team coordinates all post-Brexit customs documentation via our Felixstowe agents as standard on every consignment we manage. You do not need to appoint a separate customs broker.
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FROM THE PLEXUS JOURNAL
Customs updates and trade compliance, written by the Plexus team in Portishead. Practical. No jargon.
