The UK’s ports, transport, logistics, and infrastructure sectors have just completed another demanding year. The pressures of 2025 went beyond simply affecting day-to-day operations, revealing deeper structural issues, long-running skills challenges, and rising expectations from customers and regulators. As we move into 2026, these lessons point toward a new operating reality.
2025: The Turning Point for UK Transport & Logistics
Across the sector, the following key themes dominated throughout 2025:
Persistent labour and skills shortages
Transport and warehousing employers faced stubborn talent gaps in driver, planner, and warehouse. Recruitment cycles lengthened, churn grew, and many operators struggled to keep experienced staff in place. Skills shortages shaped service quality, utilisation, and scheduling throughout the year, as the sector expects a 409,000 to 618,000 transport worker shortfall by 2030.
The year of tariff wars
In April, President Trump announced that the U.S. would impose tariffs on imports with a minimum baseline of 10% up to a maximum of 49%. But the tariff war quickly escalated. At one point, the U.S. hit China with tariffs reaching 245%. The trade war further affected major companies like Boeing, Nvidia, Apple, and Tesla, with China seen to be holding a trump card to trump President Trump: a strategic advantage in rare earth elements.
Continued system fragmentation
Many operators relied on disconnected finance, HR, and operational systems. Transport and warehouse management platforms often sat apart from each other, with spreadsheets and manual invoicing loosely tying everything together. Fragmentation created delays, data blind spots and duplicated work.
Rising compliance and sustainability workload
Customs requirements, safety obligations and emissions reporting each intensified throughout 2025. Early Net Zero expectations added further pressure, particularly for operators working across ports and multimodal networks. According to Logistics UK, “the transition to net zero could require more than £1 trillion in additional investment by 2050. This will include investments in new fuels, ships, infrastructure, and supply chains.”
Growing customer expectations
Shippers and end clients leaned heavily on operators for a faster, more reliable service this year. Real-time status updates, cost transparency, and proactive communication shifted from premium features to baseline expectations. Price sensitivity also increased, which placed further pressure on margins.
The Road Ahead: 2026 Industry Game Changers
According to Eamonn Kelly, Chief Futurist at Deloitte, “The global transportation industry is expected to be reshaped by geopolitical trends, the impact of environmental changes, and exponential advances in technology.” As operators look ahead, further trends that will define the industry through 2026 include:
Intensified Cost Pressures from the Autumn Budget
The UK’s 2025 Autumn Budget has intensified cost pressures for logistics operators. The extension of the 5ppl fuel duty cut only until August 2026 means rates will start rising again, adding an estimated £435 million to industry costs and pushing annual fuel duty to £5.9 billion. From April 2026, 1,900 distribution warehouses will be hit with higher business rates, contributing an extra £270 million over three years. New NICs on salary-sacrificed pensions above £2,000 and inflation-linked increases to HGV duties further squeeze margins. While there’s welcome investment in EV infrastructure and roads, the message is clear: operators must address their cost base and accelerate digital and operational improvements to stay competitive.
Regulation and policy
The UK Future of Freight plan is beginning to influence investment and planning. Work on the National Freight Network, protected freight corridors and intermodal hubs will gather pace, with a 75% increase target for rail freight usage by 2050, starting with a 7.5% increase by as soon as 2029. Decarbonisation requirements and emissions reporting will also grow steadily, pushing operators to adopt more digital workflows and accurate, auditable data processes.
Labour and the operating model
A transport worker shortfall looms. Some 21 European countries already report shortages of heavy truck and lorry drivers, with 48% of those shortages classified as ‘highly severe’. Hiring at scale in 2026 will be difficult, which means operators must rethink how they run their organisations. Operators can no longer “hire their way out”, meaning that better systems, automation, and streamlined workflows will matter more than ever.
Clients will push for freight and logistics that are faster, cleaner, and cheaper. Real-time visibility, fewer billing disputes, and consistent service quality will shape how contracts are won. Margin pressure from fuel costs, wages, and competition will drive operators to focus on productivity and data quality. “Nearshoring will likely continue to confer benefits and challenges to trucking, third-party logistics (3PL), and rail companies”, say Deloitte, who identify nearshoring as top of their list for ‘high impact’ and ‘rapid pace of change’.
Technology and innovation
AI-driven routing, forecasting and optimisation tools will benefit many more operators. Bloomberg expects Generative AI to become a $1.3 Trillion Market (a 51% increase) by 2032 as enterprises shift more workloads to the cloud, while 48% of freight companies surveyed already apply AI to improve customer relationship management. At the same time, the risk of a more fractured app ecosystem will rise unless operators commit to integrated digital foundations.
What 2026 will demand from UK Ports, Transport, Logistics, and Infrastructure Operators
To thrive in this environment, operators will need to shift how they work.
Operational resilience with fewer people
Manual effort in billing, planning and compliance will need to fall. Operators that automate repetitive tasks will free up staff for higher-value work and reduce the impact of recruitment challenges. Some legacy carriers even appear to be accepting short-term losses to pivot toward higher-margin services, as seen with UPS absorbing a $800M loss on Coyote Logistics.
Data-driven decision making
Leaders will need access to a true, up-to-date Transport, Logistics, and Infrastructure P&L. Visibility from warehouse to fleet to finance will enable better forecasting, tighter control of margins, and more informed choices on investment. This will also herald industry disruption, with 60% of traditional freight brokers now at risk from emerging digital marketplaces.
Reliable compliance and sustainability
Customs, duty and emissions workflows will require higher accuracy and lower administrative burden. Automated reporting will support both regulatory confidence and customer trust. While fleets are also greening. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is targeting 5% to 10% of shipping fuel derived from zero-emission or near-zero fuels by 2030. While Hapag-Lloyd has ordered 24 new dual-fuel (biomethane) container ships from Chinese shipyards, to be delivered from 2027.
Ability to plug into a more digital ecosystem
The rise of smart ports, digital corridors and cross-industry innovation will reward operators with flexible, cloud-based and AI-enabled systems. According to Doug Waggoner, CEO of Echo Global Logistics, the advantage of AI means that operators can do “more things at once” and “compete with the larger players”. While SaaS tools that integrate cleanly also allow firms to participate in pilots and partnerships that were difficult to access in the past.
Looking ahead
Some UK transport and infrastructure organisations have already taken decisive steps to future-proof themselves. The Port of Dover is a prominent example. By modernising its back office, it strengthened its operational, financial and compliance foundations and positioned itself for the demands of 2026 and beyond. With its partnership with Mastek and Oracle, the Port of Dover has already set a new standard for operational agility and compliance, delivering results that other operators can now replicate.
To see how the Port of Dover prepared for this shift and to learn how your organisation can take similar steps toward a more resilient, data-driven future – continue to the next Blog in the series Port of Dover: Building a New Era for UK Ports, Transport, Logistics and Infrastructure to discover how to build resiliency and stay ahead.
Register for the 2026 Roadmap Workshop
Want to map out your own strategy? Register now for our exclusive "2026 Roadmap Workshop" designed for UK transport, logistics, and infrastructure leaders. You will leave with actionable insights and a tailored action plan to thrive in the year ahead.
Reserve your spot today and take the next step toward operational excellence.
