The Italian magazine Logistica Management regularly poses a series of targeted questions to the country’s leading logistics companies on current market developments, strategic challenges, and future industry trends. Here, Gruber Logistics COO Marco Manfredini shares his insights on key topics – ranging from operational excellence and innovation to sustainable growth in a dynamic market environment.
1. General scenario
In 2025, the situation was still characterized by rising costs and by rates that were stable or slightly decreasing. Most companies reduced their production capacity, while the shortage of drivers persisted—although less visibly—because the market was stagnant. After three years of crisis, several companies exited the market, leading to a progressive consolidation of the sector.
The year 2026 begins with a further reduction in capacity, both in transport and distribution, accompanied by a tendency toward rising rates and a continued increase in costs. This year confirms a significant, and even worsening, critical situation for rail transport in terms of capacity, service levels, and economic sustainability. For the first time, there has been an increase in preference for road transport over intermodal transport. The end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026 are therefore characterized by an unpredictable macroeconomic scenario.
2. Planning and governance in an evolving system
We are shaping a defensive corporate context, with a strong focus on cost control—especially structural costs—and on flexibility across all fronts: organizational, production, and commercial.
3. Impact of the New Italian Regulatory Framework
The new regulations are certainly positive, but they may potentially worsen the economic sustainability of small and medium-sized transport and distribution companies, which still support a large share of Italy’s production capacity.
4. Talent and Training
Talent management and training activities, although strategic, often clash with the objective of containing structural costs, and finding the right balance will be challenging. The impact of automation and digitalization is also undoubtedly strategic.
5. Decarbonization, intermodality, resilience
The quality of European rail service hinders large-scale decarbonization projects, which necessarily depend on rail transport. Investments in research and development of alternative fuels continue, but today they are not capable of compensating for the shortcomings of intermodality.
6. Digitalization, Artificial Intelligence, and Automation
We are working to implement tools that automate low–value-added repetitive activities, while we remain far from automating complex planning activities, which involve managing many independent variables.
7. The Rise of Robotics
We have already put some solutions into production and continue to test new prototypes.
8. 2025 Budget and 2026 Priorities
In 2025, we saw a consolidation and simplification of the organizational and decision-making structure, with a significant reduction in structural costs and a consequent return to profitability. In 2026, we aim to further increase organizational and production flexibility through targeted design of the production and commercial mix, combined with strengthening the financial component, to be ready to face market developments.
