Lome is not the obvious answer on a map, and that is exactly why it is worth understanding. A buyer in Kano or Kaduna looking at a truck in the United States has a port three hundred miles from home in Lagos, and will quite often ship to Lome instead, which is more than a thousand kilometres further away by road. They are not confused. They are making a calculation that frequently comes out in their favour, and this page explains what that calculation is.
Why Lome at all
Lome has become the most important transit port on this coast, and the numbers behind that are worth seeing. In 2024 the port handled about 2.06 million TEU, up roughly eight percent on the previous year, and 30.64 million tonnes of traffic overall. Around 20.2 million tonnes of that, close to two thirds, was transshipment rather than cargo for Togo itself. Lloyd's List ranked Lome 92nd in the world in 2025, which makes it the only sub-Saharan African port in the global top hundred.
The port was dredged between July and September 2025 at a cost of around 7.5 million euros, taking the access channel to 18.6 metres and the terminal basin to 17.6 metres, and widening the turning circle to 550 metres. It can now take fully loaded ships of 19,000 to 24,000 TEU. For a port of its size that is unusual depth, and it is why the big lines call there.
Lome serves Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, all landlocked, and the terminal operator counts northern Nigeria among its markets as well. With Sahel border closures now into a third year, coastal ports have been absorbing traffic that used to move other ways, and Lome has taken a large share of it.
The northern Nigeria calculation
Here is the thing that surprises people who have not traded on this coast. A buyer in Kano or Kaduna frequently ships to Lome rather than Lagos, and then moves the vehicle or machine overland, roughly 1,400 kilometres, taking somewhere around three to four days on the road.
What they are buying with that distance is three things.
- Time at the port. Clearance at Lagos is widely reported to stretch into weeks. Clearance at Lome is reported at around two days. For a buyer whose money is tied up in the unit, that difference compounds.
- Working capital. Cargo moving under the ECOWAS inter-state road transit arrangement, known as TRIE, travels in bond. No duty falls due in the transit country, and the destination duty is paid when the goods reach their final market. It does not avoid the duty, it defers it, and it adds bond fees, but deferral has real value.
- Space. Lome has roughly 600,000 square metres of vehicle storage, which matters when you are landing units faster than you can move them inland.
Be clear about what this does and does not do. Moving in bond through Togo does not make Nigerian duty go away. Nigerian duty is still due when the unit enters Nigeria, and reported total truck import taxes there run high as a share of CIF, assessed against the customs valuation database rather than against your invoice. What the corridor buys is speed and timing, not an escape from the tariff.
For cargo going to southern Nigeria the arithmetic usually reverses and Lagos or Cotonou makes more sense, with the short Cotonou to Lagos run through the Seme and Krake crossing. The corridor is a tool for the north, not a universal answer.
What we can and cannot tell you about the overland leg
We are the ocean carrier. We take your truck or machine from the United States to Lome and we are good at that part. The overland leg beyond the port is arranged by you or your agent, and we want to be straightforward about the limits of what we can tell you about it.
What we can say with confidence is the shape of it: that the TRIE bonded transit regime is the mechanism, that the distance to the Kano region is roughly 1,400 kilometres, that three to four days on the road is the figure traders report, and that border conditions on this corridor change and have periodically disrupted flows.
What we are not going to do is give you a confident account of specific border crossings into Niger, current Nigerian land border policy, or today's duty rates, because those move and we could not verify them to a standard we would want to publish. Your clearing agent in the region will know the current position, and they will know it better than any website does. Ask them before you commit, and build some tolerance into the timeline, because this corridor rewards planning and punishes assumptions.
What we ship on this lane
This lane carries more used trucks than almost any other we run, alongside construction machinery. Tipper trucks, tractor units, tankers, flatbeds and recovery trucks all move here, and so do excavators, loaders, backhoes and generators heading for contractors and quarries across the interior.
Trucks that run and drive are usually roll-on roll-off cargo and that is often the simplest way to move them. Machinery is a different question, and the answer depends on size:
- Backhoe loaders go into a container with the cab off, the bucket off and the arm off where length requires it.
- Wheel loaders in the Caterpillar 950 class dismantle into a 40ft high cube.
- Large excavators can be split across containers. We have shipped a Hitachi EX300, around the 30 tonne class, as one 40ft high cube plus one 20ft with the track side frames removed.
- Mini excavators and skid steers go in as they stand, often two to a box.
We do that dismantling ourselves, principally at our Baltimore facility, which is why we can offer a container price where most companies will only offer a flat rack. On cargo moving inland a long way afterward, a container has a second advantage beyond cost, which is that the machine and its parts travel enclosed.
Moving units to the north?
Send us the list and the final destination. We will quote Lome against Lagos and Cotonou so you can see the real comparison.
Get a QuotePreparation and the US side
- Collection nationwide, including from Ritchie Bros., IronPlanet, Purple Wave, Copart, IAA and Manheim. Most yards will not load a unit that can reasonably be driven, and they require a bill of lading for anything going to a foreign country, which we issue as the ocean carrier.
- The export filing, submitted by us through the Automated Export System. You supply the bill of sale or auction invoice, proof of ownership, and exact VIN or serial numbers.
- Cleaning, where the destination calls for it, which matters for anything that has worked on soil.
- Fluids and batteries, prepared to the requirements of the booked route, which differ between container, breakbulk and roll-on roll-off.
Because this cargo is usually moving on beyond the port of discharge, exact documentation matters more here than on a simple port to port job. A VIN or serial that does not match between the invoice, the export filing and the bill of lading will cause trouble at the transit paperwork stage, not just at the port. Send us the numbers from the plate.
Lome and transit corridor questions
Why would I ship to Lome instead of Lagos if my buyer is in Nigeria?
For northern Nigeria it is frequently the better route despite being further. Clearance at Lome is reported at around two days against weeks at Lagos, cargo can move in bond under the ECOWAS TRIE transit arrangement so duty is deferred rather than paid at entry, and Lome has roughly 600,000 square metres of vehicle storage. For southern Nigeria the arithmetic usually reverses and Lagos or Cotonou wins.
How far is Lome from Kano?
Roughly 1,400 kilometres by road, and traders report about three to four days for the overland leg. That is the trade-off you are making against the time saved at the port.
Does routing through Lome avoid Nigerian duty?
No, and be careful of anyone who implies it does. Bonded transit defers duty rather than removing it. Nigerian duty is still due when the unit enters Nigeria, assessed against the customs valuation database rather than your invoice, and the transit bond itself carries fees. What the corridor buys you is speed and timing.
What is TRIE?
The ECOWAS inter-state road transit arrangement, which is the mechanism allowing goods to cross member states in bond on their way to a final destination. It is why a unit can land at Lome and move toward Niger or northern Nigeria without duty falling due in Togo.
Is Lome a big enough port for this?
Comfortably. It handled about 2.06 million TEU in 2024 and 30.64 million tonnes of traffic overall, roughly two thirds of it transshipment, and Lloyd's List ranked it 92nd in the world in 2025, the only sub-Saharan African port in the global top hundred. After the 2025 dredging its channel is 18.6 metres and it takes fully loaded ships of 19,000 to 24,000 TEU.
Do you handle the overland transport from Lome?
No. We are the ocean carrier and our job finishes at the port of discharge. The overland leg is arranged by you or your agent in the region. We will tell you what we know about the corridor, but your clearing agent will know the current position far better than we do.
Which border crossings does the corridor use into northern Nigeria?
We are not going to give you a confident answer on specific crossings, because we could not verify the current routing to a standard we would publish, and conditions on this corridor change. Your clearing agent will know. What we can tell you is the shape of the route and the rough timings that traders report.
Are the borders open?
Border conditions on this corridor change and have periodically disrupted flows, and Sahel border closures are now into a third year, which is part of why coastal ports have absorbed so much traffic. Check the current position with your agent before you commit rather than relying on anything written down.
How much tolerance should I build into the timeline?
More than the headline figures suggest. Two days at the port and three to four on the road are the good-case numbers that traders quote. This corridor rewards planning and punishes assumptions, so leave room.
What do you usually ship to Lome?
More used trucks than almost any other lane we run, alongside construction machinery. Tipper trucks, tractor units, tankers, flatbeds and recovery trucks, plus excavators, loaders, backhoes and generators heading for contractors and quarries across the interior.
Should trucks go roll-on roll-off or in a container?
If a truck runs and drives, roll-on roll-off is usually the simplest and often the cheapest way to move it. Containers come into their own for machinery, for anything that does not run, and where you want the unit enclosed because it is travelling a long way inland afterward.
Can my excavator go in a container?
Usually yes, and more often than you may have been told. Mini excavators go in as they stand, mid-sized machines go in dismantled, and we have shipped a Hitachi EX300 at around 30 tonnes as one 40ft high cube plus one 20ft with the track side frames off. Send us the model and we will check it.
Can I ship several units together?
Yes, and on this lane most of our clients do. Tell us the full list before you buy rather than after, because the way units combine across bookings changes what the whole shipment costs.
Why do you keep stressing exact VIN and serial numbers on this lane?
Because the cargo is usually moving on beyond the port. A number that does not match between the invoice, the export filing and the bill of lading causes trouble at the transit paperwork stage, not just at the port, and transit paperwork is less forgiving. Send us the numbers off the plate rather than off the listing.
What paperwork do you handle?
We submit the US export filing through the Automated Export System and issue the bill of lading. You supply the bill of sale or auction invoice, proof of ownership, and the exact VIN or serial. Clearance and transit paperwork in the region are handled by your agent and we supply what they need.
Can you collect from a US auction?
Yes, anywhere in the USA, from machinery auctions and vehicle auctions alike. Most yards will not load a unit that can reasonably be driven, and equipment going to a foreign country needs a bill of lading at the gate, which we issue as the ocean carrier.
Can you quote Lome against Lagos so I can compare?
Yes, and we would rather you compared than took our word for it. Tell us the unit, the pickup point and where it is finally going, and we will price the realistic options. For some cargo the answer is obviously Lome and for some it is obviously Lagos.
Do you quote the duty at destination?
No. Duty is set by the destination government and in Nigeria is assessed against their valuation database rather than against our invoice, so any figure we gave you would be a guess at someone else's number. Your agent handles it and we supply the documents.
Are you a broker or the carrier?
We are the carrier. Cassandra Logistics is a federally licensed Ocean Transportation Intermediary under FMC license OTI No. 025125NF, legally Royal Port Container Lines, Inc. DBA Cassandra Logistics. The license is public and verifiable with the Federal Maritime Commission.
Import rules change. The customs information on this page comes from official government sources and was accurate when published, but duties, age limits, inspection regimes and eligibility requirements are set by the destination country and can change without notice. Cassandra Logistics is a licensed ocean carrier, not a customs authority or a legal adviser. We are not responsible for changes to foreign import law, or for decisions made by customs at destination. Always confirm current requirements with a licensed customs agent in the destination country before you buy a machine.