Collect
From the quay, day or night.
We collect your container from Felixstowe or London Gateway and bring it back to our yard. Every truck is satellite tracked, so you always know where your box is.
Haulage, containers, pallets and storage in Essex Port to pallet, direct.
We collect your containers from Felixstowe and London Gateway, unload and store them at our yard in Earls Colne, then deliver across the UK, next day by pallet or on our own trucks. One team, one yard, one number to call.
What are you moving?
Where we are
39 miles to Felixstowe.
39 miles to London Gateway.
Our yard on Coggeshall Road in Earls Colne sits almost exactly halfway between the two ports, a few minutes from the A120. Wherever your container lands, it’s a short, direct run back to us, day or night.
Both ports are about 39 miles from our yard by road.
Also by road from our yard
- Halstead 5 miles
- Braintree 9 miles
- Sudbury 11 miles
- Colchester 13 miles
- Chelmsford 20 miles
- Ipswich 28 miles
- Harwich 31 miles
- M25, junction 28 35 miles
- Tilbury 43 miles
Unload
Devanned and palletised.
Our warehouse team devans the container at the yard and palletises the goods, ready to store or to send straight back out.
Store
Racked, counted and on your portal.
Short or long term, shared or dedicated space, with pick and pack and full stock management. You can see what we’re holding for you in our storage portal.
Deliver
Next day, across the UK.
Pallets go out on the Pallet-Track network, next day to 98% of the UK. Full loads go on our own trucks, including booked deliveries into Amazon and national distribution centres.
What we do
Haulage, containers, pallets and storage.
Six services from one yard in Earls Colne. Choose one to see what’s included, then get a quote for it.
Containers from Felixstowe and London Gateway
One-off boxes or a regular run, collected day or night and brought back to Earls Colne for devanning, storage or delivery on to your customer.
- Felixstowe and London Gateway collections
- Day and night collections
- Devanning and palletising at our yard
- Satellite tracked, with delivery timings
Next day to 98% of the UK
We’re a shareholder member of Pallet-Track, so your pallets join a national network that trunks every night to its central hub in the West Midlands.
- Next-day delivery to 98% of the UK
- UK and European pallets through the network
- Book, track and download proof of delivery online
- From a single pallet to a full trailer
General haulage, nationwide
Cost-effective general haulage on 13.5 metre curtainsiders and flatbeds, plated for maximum weight, for construction, manufacturing and retail.
- Full and part loads across the UK
- Dedicated and managed haulage
- Spot hire for campaigns and peaks
- Extra capacity from approved partners at busy times
Cranes, step frames and low loaders
Crane lorries for site deliveries and awkward lifts, plus step frame and low loader trailers for heavy plant and machinery.
- HIAB cranes lifting up to 10 tonnes
- Reach of up to 22 metres
- Step frames and low loaders up to 30 tonnes
- Site visits, lift plans and movement orders
Shared or dedicated, short or long term
Covered, racked warehousing at our Earls Colne yard, plus two acres of outside storage for anything that doesn’t need a roof.
- Pick and pack
- Full stock management
- Devanning on site
- A storage portal for your stock
Into Amazon and national distribution centres
Dedicated and managed deliveries into Amazon fulfilment centres and national distribution centres across the UK, with your stock held here between orders.
- Dedicated and managed deliveries
- Stock held between orders
- Weekly retail and Amazon runs
- Named people looking after your account
Reaches up to 22 metres
Lifts up to 10 tonnes
Stabiliser legs down before every lift
- Reaches up to 22 metres
- Lifts up to 10 tonnes
- Stabiliser legs down before every lift
HIAB and specialist transport
Not every load fits on a pallet.
Portable cabins, generators, signs, steel, machinery and the odd vintage tractor. Our crane lorries lift it on, take it there and set it down exactly where you need it.
Recent jobs
- Restaurant signage, lifted into place
- Scaffolding, two loads a day from Ipswich and Felixstowe
- Portable cabins and generators
- Structural steel
- Two vintage vehicles, delivered safely
- Heavy plant on step frames and low loaders
Why customers stay
Twenty-four years of turning up.
- 2002 The year we started moving freight
- 98% Of the UK reached next day by pallet
- 2 acres Of outside storage at our yard
- 22 m Maximum reach of our HIAB cranes
They hold our stock for our weekly Boots orders, which they deliver and for our Amazon orders. Their delivery service is excellent. Elliott and Becky who look after our account always go above and beyond to help us, especially when we are changing order delivery dates etc!
- FORS Bronze Accredited fleet, ID 002373
- Pallet-Track Shareholder member
- RHA conditions We carry and store on Road Haulage Association terms
Since 2002
- 2002 Direct Transportation is formed
- 2005 Operating licence granted at Earls Colne
- 2013 FORS accredited
- 2014 We join the Pallet-Track network
- 2017 Into our larger yard on Coggeshall Road
- 2025 New DAF XG trucks join the fleet
The team
First names, not ticket numbers.
When you call, you get someone who knows your freight. Our account customers name Elliott, Kyle and Sonia in their Google reviews.
Ian
CEO
Steve
Operations Manager
Neil
General Haulage Manager
Paul
Compliance Manager
Elliott
Warehouse Operations Manager
Named in our reviews
Sonia
Customer Service Supervisor
Named in our reviews
Kyle
Pallet Manager
Named in our reviews
Max
Pallet Manager
Vikki
Pallet-Track Operations
- Could this be you? We’re taking on drivers and warehouse staff. See the jobs
Careers
Drive with Direct.
We’re busy, and we’re taking on Class 1 and Class 2 drivers and warehouse operatives at our Earls Colne yard.
- Class 1 and Class 2 drivers, working nationwide
- Warehouse operatives, with full training
- Forklift training, and no warehouse experience needed
- Immediate starts available
- A modern fleet, with new DAF XG trucks
FAQs
What people ask us first.
Can’t see your question? Sonia and the customer service team can help.
Which ports do you collect containers from?
We collect from Felixstowe and London Gateway, day and night. Both are about 39 miles from our yard by road.
If your container is landing somewhere else, ask us and we’ll tell you straight away whether we can help.
Can you unload my container and palletise the goods?
Yes. We devan containers at our yard in Earls Colne, palletise the goods and then store them, or send them straight out on the Pallet-Track network or on our own trucks.
How quickly are pallets delivered?
Pallets on the Pallet-Track network reach 98% of the UK the next day. They’re trunked to the network’s central hub in the West Midlands overnight and during the day.
Can I track my pallets and get proof of delivery?
Yes. In our customer portal you can enter consignments, follow them from collection to delivery and download proof of delivery, which helps you invoice sooner.
Do you deliver into Amazon fulfilment centres?
Yes. We run dedicated and managed deliveries into Amazon fulfilment centres and national distribution centres across the UK, and we can hold your stock here between orders.
What can your HIAB lorries lift?
Our HIAB cranes lift up to 10 tonnes and reach up to 22 metres. For a complex lift we visit the site first and write a lifting plan.
Do you move heavy or oversized loads?
Yes. Our extendable step frame and low loader trailers carry loads of up to 30 tonnes, and we can apply for movement orders for abnormal loads.
Do you offer short-term storage?
Yes. Short, medium or long term, in shared or dedicated space, with two acres of outside storage for anything that doesn’t need to be under cover.
What terms do you work to?
We carry goods on the Road Haulage Association’s Conditions of Carriage (2020) and store them on its Conditions of Storage (2021). Both are linked at the foot of this page.
Get a quote
Tell us about the job.
Give us the basics and we’ll come back to you with a price. If it’s urgent, call 01787 223301.
- Tell us what’s moving, where from, where to and when.
- We check the details with you by phone or email.
- You get a price from the team who’ll move it.