Groupage means consolidating cargo from multiple shippers into one shared shipping container. Instead of paying for an entire 20ft or 40ft container, you pay only for the volume and weight you actually use — measured in cubic metres (CBM) or chargeable kilograms, whichever is greater.
For Cyprus-bound shipments, this is the cheapest sea-freight option for anything under roughly 12 pallets. Below that volume, the per-CBM rate on a shared container undercuts both full-container (FCL) shipping and road-RoRo trailers, even after the consolidation handling fees.
We run a weekly groupage container from continental Europe to Limassol with a 2-3 day consolidation window at our Bologna hub. Cargo is collected as LTL across 27 European countries, consolidated, and shipped LCL via Venice/Ravenna to Cyprus.
The maritime industry term. Used when you book sea freight that shares space inside one ocean container with other shippers.
The European trade name for the same thing — what your supplier in Germany, France, or Italy will call it on their export quote.
The road-freight equivalent. We use LTL collection across Europe, then consolidate the cargo into a shared sea container for the Cyprus leg.
Pickup from your supplier or warehouse across the EU
Consolidation at our Bologna hub
Sea freight Venice → Limassol
Cyprus port handling & terminal charges
Customs clearance (when buying full door-to-door)
Inland delivery to Limassol, Larnaca, Nicosia, Paphos
Cargo tracking from collection to delivery
Door-to-door coordination with one invoice
Use groupage when: you have 1-12 pallets, your cargo isn't time-critical (9-17 days is acceptable), and you want the lowest sea-freight rate per CBM.
Use FCL (full container) instead when: you have 13+ pallets or a full 20ft / 40ft worth of cargo. At that volume FCL becomes cheaper per CBM than groupage.
Use air freight instead when: you need delivery in under a week, your goods are high-value-per-kg (above €200/kg), or you're stocked out and losing sales.
Read our LCL vs FCL Cyprus decision guide and the sea vs air freight cost comparison for worked examples.
Groupage shipping to Cyprus means sharing one shipping container with other businesses' cargo so each shipper pays only for the space they use. It is the same service as LCL (Less than Container Load) and is the most cost-effective way to ship pallets and small volumes from Europe to Cyprus.
LCL, groupage, and LTL all refer to consolidated shipping where your goods share space. LCL (Less than Container Load) is the maritime term, groupage is the European trade term, and LTL (Less than Truckload) is the road-freight term. For Cyprus we combine all three — LTL pickup across Europe consolidated into a shared container at our hub, then shipped LCL to Limassol.
Cyprus groupage rates start from around €240 per pallet from continental Europe, depending on origin, weight, and volume (CBM). The chargeable weight is calculated as max(actual kg, volumetric where 1 CBM = 1,000 kg). Use our calculator for an instant quote with your specific pallet dimensions.
Door-to-door transit is typically 9-17 days depending on origin. From Germany, Italy, or Greece expect 9-12 days. From Spain, Portugal, or Scandinavia expect 14-17 days. This includes road collection, 2-3 days consolidation, sea leg to Limassol, customs clearance, and inland delivery.
Yes — groupage is built for single-pallet and partial-pallet shipments. The minimum bookable volume is 0.1 CBM (one carton). There is no minimum number of pallets to use the shared-container service.