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The era of cheap, easily accessible transport capacity is over. In this environment, carriers and shippers must move from reactive cost-cutting to active profitability management.

The traditional approach to transport contracts is no longer suited to the realities of a dynamic market. Today, instead of rigid provisions that are difficult to change, flexibility is what matters. Also the ability to quickly adjust rates and respond efficiently to sudden spikes in orders.

Drawing a distinction between the open spot market and a closed, certified carrier exchange makes it possible to combine both objectives — security and continuity of supply — instead of choosing between them.

Diesel is more expensive, and it's not just about the price of oil. Here's how that pressure reaches you even if you're not the one filling the tank, and what you can do so you don't end up without capacity when you need it most.

If your logistics team is still tracking carrier compliance in a spreadsheet and managing exceptions over the phone, you already know the toll it takes. Manual logistics operations don't fail all at once. They fail incrementally—in the three hours consumed by endless phone calls per shipment, or the truck that arrives at a dock that simply isn't ready for it.

When your trusted carrier can't take the load, finding a verified replacement shouldn't take days. Here's how CargoON shippers use the Certified Carrier Exchange to source TAPA-certified capacity in minutes.

NCT Group has partnered with CargoON to accelerate the digitalization of its transport operations across Europe. The collaboration will support more efficient freight execution, improved carrier communication, and greater visibility through automation and centralized transport management.

Recurring time slots are created automatically, so you no longer need to repeat the same steps manually.

Time-slot forwarding and order consolidation speed up unloading and reduce manual labour.

In 2026, European road freight will continue to operate in an environment where structural cost pressure remains intense. Though increasingly it is the labour, tolling, regulatory compliance and decarbonisation investments that define transport budgets and put pressure on the margins. But while fuel prices were fairly stable in recent quarters, the latest conflict in the Middle East could brutally remind carriers that fuel still makes up around 40% of their costs.

While the ongoing conflict in Iran is geographically concentrated in the Middle East, its effects are rippling across Europe’s logistics and transport networks. Rising oil and gas prices, disruptions to maritime routes, and delays in air freight are driving up operational costs and creating more unpredictability for road carriers in already unpredictable times. For European hauliers already operating on thin margins, the combination of higher fuel costs, fluctuating freight volumes, and port congestion is intensifying pressures and threatening profitability, forcing companies to rethink supply chains and adopt more resilient strategies.

By 2026 and 2027, automation in logistics is no longer an innovation project—it should be the backbone of operational strategy. Driven by e-commerce growth, persistent labor shortages, cost pressure, regulatory demands, and rising customer expectations, companies are accelerating investment in intelligent, scalable technologies. The shift is clear: logistics is evolving from mechanized processes to self-learning, AI-driven ecosystems.