Third-party logistics: 2026 revenue at 118 billion (+4 per cent) but costs continue to rise

Turnover for Italian contract logistics companies has grown for the third consecutive year (following the decline in 2023), albeit moderately, reaching 118 billion euros compared with 113.2 million the previous year. This represents a 4 per cent increase in nominal terms compared with 2025, which translates to +0.6 per cent in real terms. These figures are reported by the Contract Logistics Observatory at the Politecnico di Milano. The number of companies making up the Italian third-party logistics sector stands at around 78,000. The main sectors of activity include: road haulage; warehouse operators; freight forwarders; and express couriers.

The cost of logistics inputs also rose again in 2026. In general, costs remain at levels significantly higher than pre-Covid levels. This trend is driven primarily by a renewed surge in energy costs, linked to tensions in the Middle East combined with the blockade of shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, which are once again the main factor putting pressure on costs in the sector. The cost of electricity has risen significantly (+29.8%) as has the price of diesel (+19.6%), whilst alternative fuels have seen more modest increases (+8.2% for LNG, liquefied natural gas; +7.3 per cent for CNG, compressed natural gas, and methane for transport).

The rise in fuel costs, which are indexed in almost all cases (96 per cent of the contracts analysed), is passed on almost in full to freight rates, leading the Transport Index to record a 6.4 per cent increase for contract rates and a 7.7 per cent increase for spot rates. Labour costs continue to rise, albeit at a more moderate pace (+2%, compared with +4.4% in 2025), rental rates for logistics premises have stabilised (0%) following the increases of previous years, whilst the cost of capital remains essentially stable (-1.0%). The persistence of high costs, against a backdrop of broadly stable demand, is also having an impact on the profit margins of third-party logistics operators, which are already historically low.

Marco Melacini, scientific director of the Contract Logistics Observatory, says: ‘In 2026, turnover will grow in nominal terms and profit margins will be only partially affected by the rise in the cost of production factors, thanks in part to the work on contract indexation carried out in recent years. In this context, logistics companies are increasingly called upon to transform themselves and manage change: they must review their outsourcing strategies and warehouse management approaches, expand and innovate their portfolio of services, and accelerate investment in digitalisation and automation.”