Establishing the cost of international transport is a fundamental step in the entire logistics process. This calculation ultimately determines the final price to be paid for carrying goods across Europe.
However, the calculation process itself is complex and depends on many factors. For this reason, a reliable cost estimate is crucial – for the carrier, it forms the basis of profitability, while for the client, it offers an opportunity to optimize their budget.
Need a quick quote?
Fill out our online quote form
We encourage you to fill out the transport quote form below. After you provide the necessary data and submit it, our staff will review its content and promptly prepare a personalized transport offer within 24 hours. We will assign a dedicated representative to you who will answer all your questions, clarify any doubts, and ensure an efficient analysis of the offer and seamless execution of the subsequent order.
This is the most convenient and straightforward way to obtain a transport quote, a method you will find on the websites of most transport companies. Submitting an inquiry takes just a few moments. However, it is important to distinguish such a form from an automatic calculator. The latter will give you an instant price, but it will only be an estimate that is unlikely to reflect the final cost. With a traditional form, your inquiry goes directly to a freight forwarder. They will prepare a precise, personalized offer based on the specific details you provide. This guarantees that the calculation you receive is both accurate and binding.
What information is needed for an accurate quote (cargo, route, deadlines)?
Want to know the exact cost of your transport? For us to prepare a binding offer, we need some key information about your shipment, route, and deadlines. First, describe your cargo. What exactly are you shipping? Is it pallets, groupage (LTL), or perhaps dangerous goods (ADR)? We will also need its gross weight and precise dimensions—length, width, and height. This data allows us to perfectly match a vehicle to your needs. Next, we need the exact route. Provide us with the full addresses for loading and unloading, including postal codes. This information enables us to not only accurately calculate the distance but also plan the most optimal route for your goods. Finally, and just as importantly, are the deadlines. When should we collect the shipment, and what is the expected delivery time? This is crucial as it helps us determine the type of service. Remember that express transport, while more expensive, ensures significantly faster order completion compared to the standard option.
You can send all this information to us at biuro@woz-trans.com or fill it out in our form.
What components make up the cost of transport?
The final cost of transport is the result of many factors, which is why we always prepare a precise quote based on your individual needs. We consider the vehicle’s specifics, the type of cargo, and the route. All these components can be divided into two main categories: fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs are regular expenses that the company incurs regardless of the number of transports performed. These include:
- leasing installments and vehicle depreciation,
- mandatory insurance (including Carrier’s Liability Insurance),
- salaries for drivers and other employees.
The second group consists of variable costs, which are directly related to a specific order. The key factor here is, of course, the fuel consumed to cover the route, but this also includes all road charges, such as vignettes and tolls. If the transport extends beyond the borders of the European Union, the calculation must also account for customs duties and taxes.
Types of Transport Inquiries
We typically receive two types of transport inquiries, which we distinguish based on the following criteria:
- Transport volume size
- Time required for transport execution
Depending on the type of inquiry, the quoting process differs slightly:
Contractual Inquiry
For a contractual inquiry (long-term, recurring cooperation), the process involves:
- Align the availability and type of fleet for the specified timeframe, establishing a rate that is resilient to market fluctuations, meaning it accounts for all fixed costs, vehicle operating expenses, driver wages, road tolls, and periodic average fuel price variations.
- Develop a year-round loading plan that accounts for transport regulations during public holidays, tailored to the shipper’s needs and production capacity, while also securing a return load for the vehicle (since empty runs are never profitable).
- For the inquiry, we define a validity period for the offer’s acceptance (e.g., 2 weeks or until the tender deadline).
- We also determine whether to prepare an additional option for the client that includes cargo insurance. This insurance provides extra protection for the value of the cargo in the event of unforeseen incidents during transit.
Quoting a One-Time Transport Order
Part of the above procedure naturally overlaps with quoting a one-time transport order. We check fleet availability for the given period and help select the appropriate vehicle for the size and type of cargo. We can also be more flexible with the rate, which depends on:
- current market conditions,
- fuel costs,
- the plan for return loads,
- the period in which the transport is to be carried out (e.g., exporting from Poland before holidays can be more expensive due to a limited number of return loads – sometimes postponing the transport by a few days can result in significant savings for the client),
- we can offer cargo insurance for every shipment.
The more time we have to plan the transport thoroughly, the more favorable the rate we can offer. “Same-day” or last-minute inquiries often carry the risk of a higher price, although this is not always the case. As an experienced forwarding company, we cooperate with several thousand verified carriers, which gives us great flexibility. This allows us to offer optimal prices and ensure that every transport service is executed to the highest standard.
How to reduce costs and increase transport profitability?
Want every order to be more profitable? The key is smart management of transport costs, which can be significantly reduced using a few simple methods. The foundation is meticulous route planning. Using modern systems for route optimization directly translates to lower fuel consumption and reduced road tolls. It’s also worth considering the mode of transport – road, sea, or air. Sometimes, the best solution is multimodal transport, which combines different options to find the perfect balance between price and delivery time. And for smaller shipments? Cargo consolidation, also known as groupage or LTL transport, is the ideal choice. This method involves combining goods from multiple shippers into a single vehicle. By sharing the costs, the transport fee for each shipper is incomparably lower.
A transport quote calculator?
If pricing depended solely on distance, it would be very easy to create a calculator based exclusively on a €/PLN per freight-kilometer parameter. However, such a solution is not reliable due to the factors described earlier, which are only a fraction of what a freight forwarder must consider when preparing an accurate quote. A quote calculator does not account for the current market situation or loading schedules. As a simple example of why automatic quote calculators do not provide reliable information, consider this relatively common scenario:
We receive an order for a route with a strict loading appointment on Day A at 09:00 and a strict unloading appointment on Day B at 09:00. The vehicle has to travel only 300 km, but the time windows are fixed, and the vehicle must deliver the goods on schedule on Day B. This route can be more expensive than an order for a 500 km route that can be fully completed on the same day (with loading and unloading on Day A).
Once again, we encourage you to fill out our form so we can prepare an offer tailored to your needs.