Italian logistics sector grows but faces structural tensions

A sector that is growing in numbers, but which shows increasing structural tensions. The national logistics system is worth 94.3 billion euros today, with contained growth of 1.9% compared to 2024. In recent years, the dynamics of costs have exceeded that of volumes, "compressing margins and increasing uncertainty". Among the most relevant factors is energy: the cost of diesel for road transport shows an increase of close to 30% compared to 2019, while electricity has grown by more than a quarter in the same period. This is the snapshot taken by the second Report 2026 of the Freight Insights Observatory - established by the National Center for Sustainable Mobility - MOST, with the Cseli Foundation (formed by Aiscat, Confcommercio, Conftrasporto and Ferrovie dello Stato) and presented this morning at the Chamber.

It is especially on the infrastructural front that the most critical signals emerge. The network, particularly the motorway network, shows increasing levels of saturation and also on the railway front the trend remains negative: freight transport continues to lose ground, with a reduction of about 4% in train-km in 2025. Alongside internal congestion, the Italian logistics system must contend with growing instability of global routes. Despite this, Italian port activity maintains a strategic position: the country confirms itself as third in Europe for overall traffic, with almost 15% of the tons moved by sea in Europe.

In this context, the report, presented by Vittorio Marzano, professor at the Federico II University of Naples, identifies digitalization "as one of the strategic hubs for relaunching the system's competitiveness, with savings across the entire supply chain of up to 18 billion euros". For the president of Conftrasporto and vice-president of Confcommercio, Pasquale Russo, "it is necessary to intervene to review the ETS system which is damaging maritime transport, as well as to provide immediate support for the development of road-rail intermodality". The Report 2026 "clearly highlights that, although the logistics sector is growing, its fragilities require immediate attention", commented the director of Most, Gianmarco Montanari. "As a governing force, we are working in Italy and in Europe to overcome many of the critical issues", said Vincenzo Amich, a Member of Parliament for Fratelli d'Italia who participated in the initiative promoted by Salvatore Deidda, president of the Transport Commission of the Chamber.