We deliver loads from Poland to Southampton, Portsmouth and the whole of Hampshire: groupage from a single pallet, part loads and full trucks. Road delivery usually takes 2-3 working days from loading. Portsmouth runs a Class B CAZ in which older heavy goods vehicles pay 50 GBP a day; the Euro 6 vehicles we operate are exempt.
When road transport, and when a container through the port?
That question comes up with south coast clients more than anywhere else. The sea container wins for intercontinental cargo: goods from Asia or America sail into Southampton and move inland from there. Road transport from Poland plays in a different time league: a pallet loaded on Monday is with the receiver on Wednesday, with no terminal bookings or port formalities. In practice the two worlds complement each other: we bring components from Poland to firms that export by sea, collect goods devanned from containers and distribute them across Britain, and our Milton Keynes warehouse works as the buffer between the two rhythms.
What do we carry to the south coast?
Hampshire and its neighbours mean the marine and defence industry around Portsmouth, including shipyards and vessel support, yacht building along the Solent shore, port logistics and a strong retail and services market in a conurbation of about a million people. From Poland the flow includes components and equipment for industry, building materials, furniture and trade goods. Shipyards and defence sites require bookings and entry control, so we provide driver and vehicle details in advance.
What do the route and delivery look like?
The south coast is the closest English destination to the Channel crossing: the route runs via the M25 or the A-roads south, then the M3 to Southampton or the A3(M) to Portsmouth. Single pallets travel as groupage LTL, larger consignments by dedicated FTL vehicle, and urgent shipments up to 2.5 t by express van. How we choose the crossing itself is covered in ferry or Eurotunnel.
The Portsmouth CAZ: what you need to know
The zone covers the south-west part of the city including the port area and operates around the clock. The charge applies to non-compliant heavy goods vehicles, coaches and taxis; for diesel trucks the threshold is Euro 6. Cars and vans enter free regardless of age. Our vehicles meet Euro 6, so deliveries around the port and the centre run with no extra cost and no registration. Southampton's own clean air zone is a non-charging scheme.
Neighbouring directions
East of Portsmouth begins the county of Kent with the Channel crossings, covered in our article on transport to Kent. To the north east lies London: capital deliveries are described in transport to London.
Yachts, boats and marine equipment as cargo
The Solent shore is a sailing heartland, so we regularly carry goods this way that ordinary groupage never sees: yacht hardware, masts, sails, outboard engines, laminate parts and marina fit-out. These loads are long, light and pressure-sensitive at once: masts and profiles travel full-length in their own zone of the vehicle, laminates upright on racks, engines in the position the manufacturer specifies with fluids secured. We agree the loading method before the truck arrives, because adjusting the lashing of a long mast on the ramp is the most expensive possible moment to learn.
The weekly rhythm for the south coast
We serve Hampshire on a steady rhythm: loadings in Poland early in the week leave the Milton Keynes consolidation so that Southampton and Portsmouth drops fall midweek, when receivers' warehouses have the loosest windows. Urgent shipments travel outside that rhythm by express van. On the way back we take the region's exports: marine industry products, components and goods from port warehouses, which our consolidation carries to Poland and Central Europe. Two streams in one order mean lower rates on both sides.
Sources
- Portsmouth City Council: Clean Air Zone
- GOV.UK: Clean Air Zones, vehicle check
- Associated British Ports: Port of Southampton
Need a delivery to Southampton, Portsmouth or into Hampshire? Use the quote form. The whole direction is on the transport to the United Kingdom page.
