If you're shipping by road between the UK and Turkey, you have three main service options: groupage, part-load and full-load. Picking the right one for each shipment is one of the easiest ways to save money without sacrificing reliability.
Here's a plain-English breakdown of when to use each.
Groupage — Sharing the Trailer
Groupage means your cargo travels in a trailer alongside shipments from other customers. The forwarder consolidates everyone's goods at an origin depot, books one trailer, and de-consolidates at the destination depot before delivery.
Use groupage when:
- You have 1–4 pallets, or under 2,000 kg
- You can wait for the next scheduled departure (typically 2–3 per week)
- Cost matters more than absolute speed
- Your goods are not high-risk or extremely time-sensitive
Typical cost saving vs full-load: 50–70%.
The trade-off is transit time. Groupage usually adds 1–2 days because cargo passes through consolidation hubs at each end.
Part-Load — Half the Trailer is Yours
Part-load (sometimes called LTL — Less than Truck Load) gives you exclusive use of part of a trailer — typically half. The trailer carries your cargo plus one or two other customers, but without the depot consolidation cycle of groupage.
Use part-load when:
- You have 5–15 pallets, or 2,000–10,000 kg
- You want faster transit than groupage but don't need a full trailer
- You want fewer touches on your cargo (less handling, less risk)
Part-load is the sweet spot for many mid-size shippers. You get most of the cost saving of groupage with most of the speed of full-load.
Full-Load — The Whole Trailer
Full-load (FTL — Full Truck Load) means the entire trailer is dedicated to your cargo. The driver collects from your supplier, drives direct to your destination, and unloads — no intermediate stops.
Use full-load when:
- You have 20+ pallets, or close to a trailer's 24-tonne capacity
- Speed is critical (FTL is the fastest mainline road option)
- You're moving high-value or sensitive goods that should not share space
- You want fixed pricing regardless of how full the trailer is
Full-load gives you the shortest transit time, the simplest paper trail (one CMR), and the lowest cost per kg if you can fill the trailer.
A Worked Example
Imagine you need to move 4 pallets (1,200 kg) of textiles from Bursa to Manchester:
- Groupage: ~£420 + £80 customs = £500 total. Transit: 8 days.
- Part-load (shared): ~£640 + £80 customs = £720 total. Transit: 6 days.
- Full-load: ~£2,400 + £80 customs = £2,480 total. Transit: 5 days.
- Speedy Van Express: ~£1,800 + £80 customs = £1,880 total. Transit: 3 days.
(Indicative prices for illustration. Actual quotes vary by season, fuel surcharge and route.)
For 4 pallets, groupage is clearly the right call unless you need it urgently — in which case Speedy Van wins on time vs cost.
How a Specialist Forwarder Helps
A specialist UK–Turkey freight forwarder runs scheduled trailers on the lane, which means:
- Reliable departure days (no waiting for a forwarder to scrape together enough cargo to fill a trailer)
- Better pricing because the forwarder already has the capacity sold
- Bilingual support — Turkish-language coordination at origin, English-language coordination at destination
- One contract, one invoice, one point of contact
Bottom Line
Match the service to the shipment, not the other way round. A good forwarder will recommend the cheapest option that meets your timing requirement — not push you toward the most expensive option.
Get a quote for your next UK–Turkey shipment and we'll show you all three options side by side.