Temperature-controlled transport, full loads and organiser services

A full truckload (FTL) means the whole vehicle is given over to the cargo of a single consignor. In groupage the vehicle carries cargo for several consignors and unloads along the way; in a full load the cargo stays in the same semi-trailer from the loading point to the unloading point, with no handling in between. Less handling means less risk of damage and of consignments being mixed up.

On a full load the tractor unit and the semi-trailer are dedicated to your cargo. Our fleet has 16 owned tractor units and 19 semi-trailers, 18 of them owned; working mainly with our own equipment means we schedule the vehicle to our own timetable rather than a third-party carrier’s. Because all 19 semi-trailers are ATP/FRC certified reefers, our full-load service also runs on reefer equipment. Where a different body type is needed, the vehicle is assigned from our carrier network under transport organiser solutions.

On suitable routes the trip runs under the TIR system: the vehicle is sealed under cover of a TIR carnet and, as a rule, passes through the customs offices en route in transit without examination. The carnet also acts as a guarantee for customs duties up to the amount set per carnet. In Türkiye, carnets are issued by TOBB as the national guaranteeing association. The carriage itself is subject to the CMR Convention. The CMR consignment note is not the contract: it is the document that proves the existence and the terms of the contract of carriage between the consignor and the carrier, recording the nature of the goods, the place of delivery and the consignee.

The sequence runs like this: semi-trailer allocation; a pre-loading check of the CMR and of the documents travelling with the cargo; pre-cooling of the semi-trailer to the requested set temperature; loading; registration of the TIR carnet at the customs office of departure and sealing of the vehicle. Customs formalities are carried out by customs brokers; Flowen coordinates the process and the document flow.

The document set that travels with the cargo varies with the lane and with the goods. The transport document is the CMR consignment note; depending on the route, the transit procedure runs either under a TIR carnet or under a common transit declaration (T1/NCTS). The commercial documents are the invoice and the packing list.

Which preferential and origin documents are needed depends on the country of destination. For goods in free circulation under the Customs Union moving to the EU, an A.TR movement certificate is issued, and processed agricultural products come under it as well. For unprocessed agricultural products and for goods covered by the ECSC coal and steel agreement, a EUR.1 movement certificate proving preferential origin is issued instead. In countries with a free trade agreement, the proof of origin provided for in that agreement is used: in most cases the EUR.1, and under some agreements an origin declaration made out by the exporter. Outside these arrangements, the importing country’s legislation may call for a certificate of origin. A large share of reefer cargo is agricultural, so this distinction comes up often.

Food consignments may call for a health certificate, products of animal origin for a veterinary health certificate and plant products for a phytosanitary certificate. For road entry into the EU, the legal obligation for the ENS pre-arrival declaration (entry summary declaration) filed under ICS2 rests with the carrier; it is filed at least one hour before the vehicle reaches the first customs office of entry.

Customs formalities are carried out by customs brokers; Flowen coordinates the process and the document flow. One avoidable cause of delay at the border crossing point is an incomplete or inconsistent document set. That is why we go through the document set before loading and report anything missing before the vehicle leaves. The signed CMR consignment note goes back to the consignor after delivery.