Girteka invests in driver training
Girteka has opened a new training centre for professional drivers in Poznań, Poland, aimed at improving cargo safety and service quality across European transport operations. The facility caters for both new and experienced drivers, allowing them to practise in conditions that replicate everyday operational activities. The programme covers cargo securing, the use of chains, forklift operation, and loading and unloading procedures. The initiative involves a group employing around 10,000 drivers and carrying out 800,000 full truckload shipments annually. Training is particularly important in temperature-controlled transport and the movement of high-value goods, which require strict handling and safety procedures. Overall, the company devotes between 25,000 and 26,000 hours each year to driver training and professional development. The new Polish centre will allow drivers to undertake practical exercises in a controlled environment before carrying out operations at customer sites.
Amazon electrifies freight transport in India
Amazon and Tata Motors have announced an agreement to introduce 3,000 electric trucks into the e-commerce company's logistics network in India, aiming to extend electrification beyond urban deliveries to freight transport between logistics centres and along major national corridors. The vehicles will be supplied by Tata Motors, while ownership and operations will remain with Amazon's transport partners. The first phase will begin in Delhi, with light- and medium-duty electric trucks deployed between logistics facilities. The project will subsequently extend to the 2,800-kilometre Delhi–Bengaluru–Chennai highway corridor, which crosses seven states and connects six major Indian e-commerce markets. Expansion will be supported by dedicated charging infrastructure, developed partly with Yahhvi, which has already established ten charging sites across the country. The vehicles will include the Tata Ultra E.7, equipped with fast charging and regenerative braking. The initiative also benefits from Delhi's electric mobility policy introduced in 2026, which allows the first 1,000 privately registered medium-duty electric trucks registered within three months of the measures taking effect to operate without time restrictions for ten years. Amazon already operates more than 15,000 electric vehicles across over 500 Indian cities.
Marine insurers merge
Members of UK P&I Club and TT Club have approved a merger that will create United Transport Mutual (UTM), a mutual insurance group covering maritime transport, ports and logistics. The transaction will take effect on 20 February 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. The new group will have annual premiums of approximately $750 million and free reserves of $888 million. The integration is expected to improve the combined ratio of claims and expenses to premiums by five percentage points. UK P&I Club insures more than 250 million tonnes of vessel tonnage, while TT Club covers around 80% of the global container fleet and operates in more than 70 of the world's 100 largest ports. Both insurers will retain their brands, operating structures and commercial independence. The merger also includes the acquisition of Thomas Miller Holdings, expected to be completed by the end of 2026, bringing the management company under mutual ownership. Andrew Taylor will become chief executive of UTM, while Niels Smedegaard will serve as chairman. The aim is to share resources and expertise to address rising claims costs and risks across the logistics supply chain without changing operational relationships with members and customers.
US logistics faces consolidation and rising returns
In the United States, the third-party logistics market is showing increasing concentration in relationships between shippers and logistics providers, alongside growing operational demands associated with returns management. According to Cushman & Wakefield, third-party logistics operators and manufacturing companies jointly accounted for more than 55% of industrial leasing activity in the first half of 2026. The figure covers both categories of occupiers and is not limited to large industrial properties. Meanwhile, industrial space under construction increased by approximately 6.2%. Regarding contractual relationships, the 2027 Third-Party Logistics Study, reported by Sourcing Journal, found that 74% of surveyed shippers are reducing the number of logistics providers they use, compared with 50% in the previous edition, while 86% say they are increasing their use of outsourced logistics. The findings therefore point to a tendency to concentrate activities among fewer providers, although the data do not establish specific selection criteria, such as financial strength or the breadth of services offered. A further source of operational pressure is returns logistics. According to Narvar, return volumes increased by approximately 11% year on year during the Christmas shopping period, compared with a 6% rise in orders. The figures, which relate to the market activity monitored by the company, indicate that return flows are growing faster than purchases, but do not represent an overall measure of reverse logistics trends.
DP World expands in Canada
DP World has signed a memorandum of understanding with Arctic Gateway Group and CentrePort Canada to explore the development of the port of Churchill, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, and the creation of an intermodal logistics corridor connected to its international network. The agreement covers port operations and potential rail connections to inland logistics infrastructure, with the aim of turning Churchill into a gateway for Canadian exports to Europe and the Middle East. Located on Hudson Bay, with access to the Atlantic through Arctic shipping routes, the port could handle liquefied natural gas, grain, potash and critical minerals. The expansion project, which includes modernising port facilities, upgrading rail infrastructure and developing new year-round road connections, would require an estimated $57 billion in investment, with preliminary funding requests totalling $3.9 billion. One outstanding challenge is the seasonal navigability of the bay, which is currently frozen for much of the year. The shipping season could be extended through the use of icebreakers. CentrePort, an intermodal logistics hub covering approximately 8,100 hectares near Winnipeg and integrating rail, road and air transport, would play a central role. According to Arctic Gateway Group, Churchill could also become an alternative transit point for containers travelling from Asia to Europe, via the Canadian ports of Prince Rupert and Vancouver and onward rail connections northwards. Transit times could potentially be comparable with those on routes through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. For DP World, which already operates in Vancouver and Prince Rupert and is involved in managing a new terminal near Montréal, the initiative would further integrate its Canadian operations into its global logistics network.
Russian attacks hit Ukrainian logistics
Ukrainian retail chain Epicentr has reported the destruction of its logistics network following a series of Russian air strikes against its distribution centres. The latest attacks, carried out over the weekend, hit facilities in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia and Poltava regions within 24 hours. The company, which sells building materials and household products, operates 53 shopping centres and 197 order collection points across Ukraine. Russia's defence ministry confirmed strikes against two logistics centres, including one belonging to Epicentr, and a distribution facility in Kharkiv, claiming that they stored goods also intended for the Ukrainian military. The company's infrastructure has been repeatedly targeted in recent months. Russian attacks have also affected private delivery operator Nova Poshta and data processing centres belonging to Vodafone, Omega Telecom and Kyivstar. The extension of air strikes to distribution and communications infrastructure highlights the impact of the conflict on civilian logistics networks.
