In 2024, the “transport and storage” sector produced €17.1 billion in turnover in Lombardy; once passenger and mixed services are excluded, the value attributable solely to logistics stands at €15.8 billion, still ahead of traditionally strong sectors such as construction and metallurgy. The region accounts for just over 22 per cent of the national added value in the sector, confirming a position of leadership that has lasted for more than a decade. These findings come from the report on Lombard logistics by Polis Lombardia.
This performance is supported by a network of 802 warehouses, accounting for 28.3 per cent of the national logistics footprint: over twelve million square metres, with half located within forty kilometres of Milan. Here, the average warehouse size increases from 8,000 square metres in suburban areas to 20,000 square metres in more outlying zones. The capital alone counts 356 warehouses, followed by Pavia with 77 and Bergamo with 85.
Within these spaces operate 24,325 business units dedicated to freight transport and storage, of which 39.8 per cent are located in the metropolitan area of Milan. The number of “pure” logistics workers stands at 202,175, although the broader transport sector (category H) employs 261,860 in total. When mixed activities are included, the estimate rises to 216,229. More than half of this workforce – 51.6 per cent – is concentrated in the Milan area.
The business landscape features 25,525 companies, accounting for 18 per cent of the national total, with a regional specialisation index of 1.12. Milan alone reaches 1.296, while Lodi and Como fall just below the threshold of one. Over the past fifteen years, sole proprietorships have declined in favour of joint-stock companies, reflecting increased capitalisation and market concentration. Growing instability in global supply chains has also driven a shift from just-in-time to just-in-case models, increasing demand for larger, more automated class A warehouses, particularly along the Pioltello-Melzo corridor and in the Montichiari area.
As for land consumption, between 1999 and 2024 logistics operations converted 2,040.22 hectares of undeveloped land, averaging 81.6 hectares per year, or 0.22 hectares per day. The highest absolute volumes were recorded in Pavia (447.94 hectares) and Milan (425.79 hectares), followed by Mantua and Bergamo. Overall, the sector accounts for 2.44 per cent of total regional land consumption and 10.61 per cent of that designated for productive purposes. After peaking in 2021, the rate of expansion has slowed by 20 per cent, although in the last three years it has risen again in Pavia (+5 per cent), Cremona (+43 per cent) and Mantua (+57 per cent).
The morphological profile shows that three-quarters of logistics sites occupy between one and four hectares, while only forty-seven developments exceed ten hectares. These latter, just nine per cent of the total, account for over forty per cent of all land consumed since 1999. In several cases, sites extend beyond thirty hectares and feature large impervious yards with minimal and fragmented green areas.
Urban planning records show that just under three hundred municipalities have been involved in logistics-related land use changes. Half of the developments required amendments to local plans (Pgt), with some raising the permitted building height from 20 to 32 metres. In three projects, the Suap fast-track procedure was used to accelerate approval. Urban development charges linked to these projects account for an average of 20 per cent of municipal annual budgets, creating strong short-term incentives at the local level.
The study concludes that Lombardy hosts a financially robust, capital-intensive logistics sector that, while reinforcing its national centrality, places significant pressure on the territory. The expansion of large platforms along the motorway network is leading to highly polarised land consumption, placing a heavy planning burden on municipalities and increasing the urgency for regional tools – such as the Suitable Territorial Areas introduced by Regional Law 15/2024 – capable of steering growth toward brownfield regeneration, limiting impervious surfaces and achieving more effective road-rail integration.
