Book freight forwarding Bochum:
fast & easy

Logistics in Bochum: from coal and cars to campus and technology

Bochum, a city with around 365,000 people, has changed profoundly in recent decades. Coal mining shaped the city for generations, a history still on show at the German Mining Museum, and car manufacturing followed after the collieries closed. Since the car plant shut in 2014, its former grounds have been turned into the Mark 51°7 site. Today, technology firms, research facilities and logistics companies have settled there.

The Ruhr University Bochum is one of the largest universities in Germany. Together with the city's other academic institutions, it has made Bochum a well-known location for IT security and engineering research. Metal processing, health care and medical technology, energy and a broad base of small and medium-sized suppliers complete the picture. All of them depend on reliable inbound freight transport, from single pallets of laboratory equipment to full loads of heavy steel.

Bochum also benefits from its position between Essen and Dortmund. Within an hour's drive lie the inland port at Duisburg, one of Europe's largest, and the cargo facilities at Düsseldorf Airport. Culture adds another type of freight: the long-running Starlight Express musical and the concert and theatre venues in the city regularly need stage and technical equipment delivered on precise dates.

The route from the UK to Bochum

We cross the Channel on the Dover ferries to Calais or Dunkirk, or on Le Shuttle from Folkestone to Coquelles. On the continent, a convenient route runs through Belgium to Antwerp and via Eindhoven on the Dutch A67 to Venlo. At the German border, the road becomes the A40, known as the Ruhrschnellweg, which leads through Duisburg and Essen straight into Bochum. Alternatively, vehicles use the E40 via Brussels and Liège, approaching the region through Aachen and Cologne.

In Bochum, the A40 crosses the A43, which runs north towards Recklinghausen and Münster and south towards Witten and Wuppertal. This major interchange gives quick access to the industrial estates on both sides of the city and to the neighbouring towns, which helps when a load has more than one recipient.

Import and export formalities

Goods from Great Britain enter the EU customs territory on their way to Germany, so an export declaration in the UK and an import declaration in the EU are needed. The shipper and the importer must both hold an EORI number. At Dover or the Channel Tunnel, GVMS matches the declarations to the vehicle through a Goods Movement Reference. Please have your customs agent put these documents in place before collection, as we do not handle customs clearance.

Reliable road freight between the UK and Bochum

DAGO Express works with more than 50,000 vehicles across 38 countries, and over 15,000 companies trust this network with their transports. If a vehicle breaks down, a replacement vehicle is sent so that the delivery can continue. Verified partners with a valid EU licence carry out international runs, and hazardous goods travel with partners who also hold an ADR licence. We monitor shipments 24/7, including weekends and bank holidays, and our processes are ISO 9001 certified.

Insurance through the Schunck Group covers your goods up to 8.33 SDR per kg of gross weight, with additional cover available at short notice for more valuable items. Once you have booked, a tracking link lets you follow the vehicle, and emails confirm collection and delivery. Businesses with frequent shipments manage their orders, ETAs and KPIs in the DAGO ShipperHub and can pull real-time reports as PDF or Excel files.

Want a price straight away? Enter both postcodes, the dimensions and the weight in the online calculator and the price is displayed in seconds. You can also book in the DAGO app or request a quote by email. Beyond Bochum, the network serves the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and all other European markets we cover.