Services
Freight services by road, sea, air, rail and special cargo.
Helquad organises freight forwarding as a single file: routing, capacity, documents and exception handling. Below is what we book, what it is for, and the transit you should expect, always subject to the actual lane.
Road
Road freight
Road freight is the default for European industrial and commercial cargo. Full truckload (FTL) is used when the shipment fills the vehicle and you want a direct run without intermediate handling. Less-than-truckload (LTL) or groupage keeps cost aligned with volume when the cargo shares space. Helquad books the carrier, issues or obtains the CMR, and keeps status with a named coordinator until proof of delivery. ADR and oversized road moves are planned under special cargo, with permits and escorts in the same file rather than bolted on later.
- Type
- FTL · LTL · express
- Transit
- 12–72h typical inside the EU
- Coverage
- Europe, with hinterland connections to ports and airports
- Fit
- Pallets, full loads, dedicated trucks and groupage
Sea
Ocean freight
Ocean freight covers full container loads (FCL), less-than-container loads (LCL) and conventional or breakbulk pieces that do not fit a standard box. We book the sailing, arrange the bill of lading, and include the inland haul to or from the port so the shipper has one commercial conversation. Quotes are per sailing and lane; transit depends on the service string, not a fixed catalogue. Project pieces and heavy-lift ocean moves are surveyed before a firm rate. Carrier liability applies by default; additional cargo insurance can be arranged to the declared value.
- Type
- FCL · LCL · conventional
- Transit
- Lane-dependent; quoted per sailing
- Coverage
- Main global ports
- Fit
- Containers, project pieces, cost-led intercontinental moves
Air
Air freight
Air freight is used when the calendar is the constraint: spare parts, high-value goods, or production lines that cannot wait for ocean transit. Helquad quotes airport-to-airport or door-to-door, with road collection and delivery in the same instruction. We book capacity, prepare the air waybill, and keep exception handling with the coordinator on the file. Express versus standard product is chosen against cut-off times and cost, not as a marketing label. Dangerous goods by air follow IATA rules and may require a longer survey before booking.
- Type
- Standard · express
- Transit
- Hours to a few days, airport to airport
- Coverage
- Global airport network
- Fit
- Time-critical, high-value, spare parts
Rail
Rail freight
Rail freight is booked where volume, distance and schedule favour it over pure road or air. Block trains and combined transport on European and Eurasian corridors suit recurring industrial flows and cost-sensitive continental moves. Helquad often places rail inside a multimodal string rather than selling it as a standalone product: terminal handling, last-mile road and documents stay in one file. Transit is competitive on long hauls but depends on slot availability and border procedures. We state that explicitly in the written quote before the cargo moves.
- Type
- Block · combined
- Transit
- Competitive on long continental hauls
- Coverage
- European and Eurasian corridors
- Fit
- High volume, scheduled industrial flows
Combined
Multimodal
Multimodal freight forwarding means one contract and one coordinator across more than one mode—typically ocean plus road, air plus road, or rail plus road. We design the string so cost, transit and handling risk at each interface are explicit before the cargo moves. The shipper is not re-quoted at every hand-off. Documents follow the governing regime for each leg (bill of lading, AWB, CMR) while the commercial file remains single. This is the standard product for cross-continent shipments, not an exception reserved for large projects.
- Type
- Sea+road · air+road · rail+road
- Transit
- Designed per file
- Coverage
- Cross-continent
- Fit
- Intercontinental cargo that should not be re-quoted at every interface
Special
Special and project cargo
Special and project cargo covers oversized and heavy pieces, ADR dangerous goods, and temperature-controlled (reefer) shipments. Route surveys, permits, escorts and equipment selection are part of the file from the first quote, not an afterthought after booking. Helquad states what can and cannot be moved on a given lane before money changes hands. Transit is survey-led; complex industrial projects may need longer preparation than a standard FTL. Carrier liability and optional cargo insurance are documented the same way as on regular modes.
- Type
- Oversized · ADR · reefer · project
- Transit
- Survey-led
- Coverage
- As permitted on the lane
- Fit
- Out-of-gauge, dangerous goods, temperature-controlled, industrial projects