Logistics services in Lithuania.

Lithuania logistics overview: modes, trade and gateways

Lithuania is a coastal EU country with cargo moving by sea through Klaipeda and the Butinge Oil Terminal, supported by about 90 km of coastline. Container and breakbulk shipments use Klaipeda, which has rail access to the hinterland. Air freight operates through three scheduled airports at Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga.

Rail freight uses a network of about 1,911 km, linking to Belarus, Latvia, Poland and Russia (Kaliningrad). Road freight connects the same neighbors, and main corridors include routes such as Vilnius to Warsaw over about 512 km. Lithuania handled about 1.1 million TEU in 2024, and its logistics performance index score of 3.4 in 2022 indicates generally efficient logistics services.

Freight forwarders in Lithuania can arrange sea, air, rail and road transport for export goods such as refined petroleum, furniture, plastic products, wheat and cars. On the import side, crude petroleum, cars, natural gas, packaged medicine and plastic products are common cargo types.

When selecting freight forwarders in Lithuania, shippers work with providers experienced in Klaipeda and the Butinge Oil Terminal, and in cross-border road and rail to Belarus, Latvia, Poland and Russia (Kaliningrad). Lithuania trades heavily with Latvia, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Germany again on the import side, the USA and Norway, so a forwarder with tested routings to these partners can simplify planning.

Lithuania is part of the EU and OECD and is a WTO member, which frames customs and market access. The logistics performance index score of 3.4 in 2022 is above the world median of 2.7, with customs at 3.2 and tracking & tracing at 3.1, slightly above the respective medians. Forwarders that can manage possible bottlenecks around tracking and tracing and customs process design are useful. At Klaipeda, shippers can work with shipping lines that have offices in the country such as MSC, APL, CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, HMM, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, ONE, OOCL and X-Press Feeders.

FCL and LCL shipping from and to Lithuania move through two seaports on the Baltic coast, with Klaipeda as the main container gateway and Butinge Oil Terminal handling oil. Klaipeda is a medium port with about 6.4 m cargo pier depth and rail access, while Butinge is very small and without rail. Container throughput was about 1.1 million TEU in 2024. Lithuania ranked 67 of 168 worldwide for container port traffic and 68 of 169 for liner shipping connectivity. Several global carriers, including MSC and Maersk, have offices in Klaipeda, with one or more lines also represented in Vilnius.

Lithuania’s logistics performance index score was 3.4 in 2022, above the world median of 2.7, with especially strong ratings for logistics competence and timeliness. Export border compliance typically took about 2 days, the same as for imports. These indicators support regular FCL and LCL services via Klaipeda for regional and deep sea trades.

Air freight in Lithuania uses three scheduled airports: Vilnius International Airport (VNO), Kaunas International Airport (KUN) and Palanga International Airport (PLQ). These airports form the main air gateways within a wider network of about 64 airports nationwide. In 2023, Lithuania’s air cargo traffic totaled about 1.7 million tonne-km, placing it 113th of 184 countries worldwide.

Air makes sense for higher-value or time-sensitive goods in Lithuania’s trade mix, such as cars, packaged medicine and certain plastic products. With export and import lead times of about 2 days each in 2018 and a logistics performance index score of 3.6 on timeliness in 2022, the air freight sector supports relatively fast door-to-door solutions when combined with road distribution to and from the airports.

Rail and road freight in Lithuania benefit from a network of about 1,911 km of railway and multiple land borders. The country borders Belarus, Latvia, Poland and Russia (Kaliningrad), with the Belarus frontier the longest at 640 km and Poland the shortest at 100 km. Rail freight transport reached about 14.6 billion tonne-km in 2021, and Lithuania placed 26 of 113 countries worldwide by this measure.

Lithuania’s road connections link Vilnius with regional centers and foreign markets, including a road distance of 512 km from Vilnius to Warsaw. Additional corridors include Vilnius to Lviv at 830 km and Vilnius to Stockholm at 832 km, supporting international trucking alongside rail freight options. Logistics performance for infrastructure scored 3.5 in 2022, above the regional and world medians.

Lithuania is a WTO member and part of the EU and OECD, which shapes its customs and trade environment. The country has been a member of the World Customs Organization since 1992. The average applied tariff was about 1 in 2022. On the 2022 logistics performance index, Lithuania’s customs score was 3.2 compared with the world median of 2.6.

Export and import border compliance times were both about 2 days in 2018. For customs clearance in Lithuania, shippers typically prepare a commercial invoice, packing list and the relevant transport document, while their freight forwarder or customs broker manages EU customs procedures. A logistics performance index score of 3.6 for timeliness and 3.6 for logistics competence supports relatively predictable clearance and delivery when documentation is accurate.