Textile and footwear transport from Portugal and Spain
Textiles and footwear from northern Portugal and Spain travel as cartons on pallets, as loose-loaded cartons or – for fashion – as garments on hangers in a vehicle fitted with hanging rails. Smaller deliveries for shops and online retailers go by groupage, whole collections in a curtainsider or box trailer. A full load from Porto takes roughly 4–5 days; we choose the vehicle according to how the goods are packed.
Where we collect textiles and footwear
Northern Portugal is one of Europe’s most important textile regions. Mills and garment makers are concentrated around Guimarães, Braga, Barcelos and Vila Nova de Famalicão, and shoemaking around Felgueiras and São João da Madeira. In Spain we collect footwear mainly in the province of Alicante, for example in Elche and Elda, and textiles in Catalonia and Galicia. Porto to Prague is about 2,550 km.
How the goods are packed and which vehicle suits
| Packing | Vehicle | Note |
|---|---|---|
| cartons on pallets | curtainsider or groupage | fastest loading and unloading by forklift |
| loose-loaded cartons | curtainsider or box trailer | better use of space, but hand loading takes longer – give the carton count |
| garments on hangers | vehicle with hanging rails | goods arrive uncreased and ready for display |
Loose cartons save space but must be unloaded by hand. If the consignee has no staff for that, it is better to palletise the goods at the supplier.
Garments on hangers
Coats, jackets, dresses and suits are often shipped on hangers so they need no pressing after transport. This calls for vehicles with rails under the roof on which the garments hang. Such vehicles are less common than curtainsiders, so request them well ahead and tell us the number of pieces or the length of rail the goods will need.
Groupage for smaller deliveries
Boutiques, shops and online retailers rarely need a whole truck. Groupage suits them: the goods travel with other consignments and you pay only for the space used. To make sure nothing goes missing, we recommend:
- stacking the cartons on a pallet and stretch-wrapping it,
- marking each carton with the consignee’s address and a sequence number (e.g. 3/12),
- enclosing a packing list with carton and item counts,
- counting the cartons on delivery and noting any shortfall on the CMR.
Footwear and fragile boxes
Shoe boxes crush easily, and a damaged box lowers the sales value even when the shoes are fine. Pack them in sturdy outer cartons and do not stack footwear pallets unless the cartons are strong enough. We arrange returns and rejected goods back to the supplier in Portugal or Spain in the same way as the inbound shipment.
Protection from damp and loss
Textiles and footwear are sensitive to moisture – wet cartons fall apart and shoes can go mouldy. We therefore insist on an intact curtain and stretch-wrapped pallets. For higher-value goods we recommend a box trailer that can be sealed and a direct run with no transhipment. On delivery, check that the seal is intact and that its number matches the documents.
Seasons and paperwork
Collections are shipped in several waves before the start of each season, when demand for trucks on the Portugal lane rises. If you know the dates in advance, let us know so we can plan capacity in time. For regular restocking of a shop or online store, groupage with a fixed weekly collection day works well. Portugal and Spain are in the EU, so an invoice and a CMR consignment note are enough, with no customs duty.
Furniture and home décor from Portugal are covered on our furniture transport page. Get an indicative price for textile shipments in the calculator.