Ocean and Air Freight to Togo from Houston and the Gulf Coast
You need to move a container of equipment, oil field machinery, or breakbulk cargo from Texas to Togo. Where does it land, what duty applies, and can someone load and warehouse the goods before they sail? The answers shape your timeline and your budget.
Texas International Freight books export shipments from Houston to the Port of Lomé. Our team receives and consolidates your cargo, loads containers, prepares export filings, and coordinates inland delivery to your Togolese site or onward to the Sahel. We handle the heavy and oversized freight standard parcel carriers cannot touch.
The Port of Lomé, West Africa’s Transshipment Hub
Lomé is Togo’s only seaport and one of the most important gateways on the West African coast. It is the deepest natural port in the region, which lets it take the largest vessels and act as a transshipment hub that feeds smaller ports along the Gulf of Guinea. The Lomé Container Terminal handles the box traffic, while conventional berths take breakbulk and roll-on roll-off cargo.
Lomé also anchors the road corridors that serve landlocked Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali, so cargo bound for the Sahel interior often enters through Togo and trucks north. That hub role makes Lomé a practical entry point even when your final delivery sits outside Togo. Where does your cargo finish its journey?
How Your Cargo Reaches Togo
Cargo leaving Houston crosses the Atlantic to the Gulf of Guinea and reaches Lomé on a direct West Africa service or through a Mediterranean or European transshipment hub. Because Lomé is a major regional hub, direct calls are common, which can shorten transit compared with smaller ports on the coast.
Plan on roughly three to four weeks of ocean freight from the Gulf Coast, depending on the service and any transshipment. Breakbulk moves on a multipurpose or chartered vessel can run longer because of load and discharge windows.
Container Loading, Warehousing, and Consolidation
Many Togo shipments start with goods sourced from several US suppliers. We receive your freight at a Houston warehouse, hold it until the full load is ready, and consolidate everything into one container. A 40-foot box bound for Lomé can carry mixed equipment, spare parts, and palletized cargo from multiple pickups on one bill of lading.
Our crews load and brace the container so the cargo travels secure, and we build the packing list and the export documents around what actually ships. Proper export packing and crating protects the goods and satisfies marking rules at both ends.
Duties, VAT, and Togolese Customs
Togo applies the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, so duty rates follow the regional schedule by product category rather than a United States trade agreement. Most imports also carry 18 percent VAT on the customs value, plus a few statutory levies. Togo uses the West African CFA franc, and customs values cargo on the CIF basis.
Your Togolese consignee needs the document set in order before the cargo arrives, and goods moving on to the Sahel may travel under a regional transit regime. Our destination partners keep your customs clearance moving so the shipment does not sit at the port.
Export Paperwork on the US Side
Shipments valued above 2,500 dollars or carrying a license requirement need Electronic Export Information filed in the Automated Export System before departure, under the right Schedule B classification. Energy and technology equipment can fall under Bureau of Industry and Security export controls, so screening happens before booking.
Your document set covers the commercial invoice, the packing list, the bill of lading or air waybill, and any certificate the commodity requires. Accurate values and full legal entity names prevent holds at both ends.
Moving Oversized and Heavy Cargo
Equipment that exceeds container dimensions ships as breakbulk cargo, on flat rack and open-top units, by roll-on roll-off, or on a chartered vessel for a full project. Generators, transformers, and crushers travel this way. Self-propelled units such as wheel loaders and harvesters often roll on and roll off under their own power.
Oil and gas, mining, and infrastructure projects rarely move one piece at a time. For a multi-unit move, project logistics and vessel charter keep the whole shipment on one plan and one schedule. Our crews handle blocking and bracing, lashing, and the survey work that heavy lifts require. The same desk arranges heavy equipment shipped overseas and the domestic heavy haul that brings the unit to the Houston terminal.
Working With a Houston Freight Forwarder
Texas International Freight receives and consolidates your cargo, loads the container, prepares your AES filing and commercial documents, coordinates with Togolese customs agents, and arranges inland trucking from Lomé to your site or onward to the Sahel. You work with one team from pickup in Texas to delivery in Togo.
The same desk runs your wider West Africa lanes. We move freight to Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, and we cover the wider region from our shipping to Africa desk. We also keep your North American freight moving on the trucking lanes to Mexico and the heavy equipment lanes to Canada. One forwarder, one point of contact, every leg of the move.
Get Your Togo Shipment Booked
Texas International Freight handles containers, machinery, breakbulk cargo, and oversized freight bound for Togo and the Sahel. Send us the dimensions, weight, and delivery point, and we return a routing and a quote.
Contact Information:
- Phone: +1 877-489-9184
- Email: ship@txintlfreight.com
- Address: 11511 Katy Fwy #320, Houston, TX 77079
- Web Form: Request a Quote
Which port serves Togo?
The Port of Lomé is Togo’s only seaport and one of the most important gateways in West Africa. It is the region’s deepest natural port, takes the largest vessels on the coast, and runs as a transshipment hub that feeds smaller ports along the Gulf of Guinea. Lomé also serves the landlocked Sahel through road corridors to Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali, so cargo bound for the interior often clears through Togo. Container, breakbulk, and roll-on roll-off cargo all move through Lomé.
Can you load a 40-foot container and provide warehousing for Togo?
Yes. We receive your goods at a Houston warehouse, consolidate multiple suppliers into one shipment, and load and brace the container so the cargo travels secure. A 40-foot box bound for Lomé can hold mixed equipment, parts, and palletized freight from several pickups. We handle the packing list, the blocking and bracing, and the export filing, then book the ocean leg and the destination clearance as one move.
Do US-origin goods pay import duty in Togo?
Togo applies the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, so duty rates follow the regional schedule by product category rather than a US trade agreement. Most imports also carry 18 percent VAT on the customs value plus a few statutory levies. Togo uses the West African CFA franc, and customs values cargo on the CIF basis. Your consignee needs the document set in order before arrival, and our destination partners keep the clearance moving.
How long does ocean freight from Houston to Togo take?
Plan on roughly three to four weeks of sailing time from the Gulf Coast to Lomé, depending on a direct West Africa service or transshipment through a Mediterranean or European hub. Because Lomé is a major regional hub, direct calls are common, which can shorten transit compared with smaller West African ports. Breakbulk and project cargo on a chartered or multipurpose vessel can run longer because of load and discharge windows. Air freight to Lomé moves urgent parts in a few days.
How do you ship an oversized item that will not fit in a container?
Oversized cargo moves as breakbulk, on flat rack and open-top equipment, by roll-on roll-off, or on a chartered multipurpose vessel for full project moves. A generator, a transformer, or a self-propelled machine ships on breakbulk berths rather than in a standard box. Our team handles export crating, blocking and bracing, and lashing so the unit arrives intact. For an oil and gas, mining, or infrastructure project with several heavy pieces, vessel charter and project logistics keep the whole move on one plan.
