Road freight rates in Italy 2026: +6.4% on contracts, rising even without diesel

FRIDAY, 13 NOVEMBER 2026

According to the Contract Logistics Observatory of Politecnico di Milano, in 2026 road transport costs 6.4% more on contracts and 7.7% more on the spot market. Without fuel the increase is still 2.3% and 3.7%: what importers and distributors in Italy should check.

Road freight rates in Italy rose in 2026 by 6.4% on contracts and 7.7% on the spot market. Diesel explains most of the increase, but not all of it: even without fuel, road transport prices are up 2.3% on contracts and 3.7% on one-off shipments.

Road freight rates in 2026: what the Politecnico index measures

The data come from the Contract Logistics Observatory «Gino Marchet» of Politecnico di Milano, which presented its annual research on 12 November 2026. The Observatory calculates two indicators. The Transport Index tracks road transport rates for companies that outsource deliveries to external operators, separating ongoing contracts (contract) from single shipments bought one at a time (spot). The Net Transport Index, introduced in the 2022 edition of the research, measures the same rates without the fuel component.

The distinction matters because in most contracts the diesel price is indexed: when it rises, the haulier passes it on to the customer almost in full. The second index therefore shows how much all the other cost items weigh.

The key figures

• Road transport rates on contracts (Transport Index): +6.4% in 2026.
• Spot road transport rates (Transport Index): +7.7% in 2026.
• Rates excluding fuel (Net Transport Index): +2.3% on contracts and +3.7% spot in 2026.
• Diesel cost for third-party logistics operators: +19.6% in 2026, against +8.2% for LNG and +7.3% for compressed natural gas.
• Electricity cost for the same operators: +29.8% in 2026.

Why prices rise even without diesel

The research links the part of the increase not driven by fuel to available capacity, starting with drivers: finding them remains difficult, and a scarce resource costs more. In other words, road transport is becoming more expensive for reasons other than energy too, and those reasons do not follow the oil price.

Other items are slowing down. Labour costs in third-party logistics grow by about 2% in 2026, less than in 2025. Warehouse rents are flat and the cost of money falls by 1%. The picture is one of costs rising mainly where energy and vehicles weigh most, which is exactly transport.

The same Observatory estimates 2026 revenue of 118 billion euros for third-party logistics in Italy, 4% more than in 2025 at current values but only 0.6% more after inflation. Real volumes are therefore growing little: the figure suggests that much of the increase is price, not activity.

What it means for companies importing and distributing in Italy

For importers of consumer goods or promotional products, the road leg is the last link: from the port or inland terminal to the warehouse, and from the warehouse to customers. The figure does not say how much a single company's delivery will rise, because the index is an average across different contracts and routes. It does suggest some practical checks.

The first concerns the choice between contract and spot. In 2026 spot rose more on both indices: those who ship regularly and buy on the market each time paid more than those with an ongoing agreement. It is worth considering an annual contract at least for recurring routes, such as port to warehouse.

The second concerns the fuel clause. If diesel falls, the indexed part of the price should fall with it; the part not linked to fuel, however, has grown by 2-4% and is unlikely to go back. It pays to ask the haulier to show the two components separately on the invoice, so as to see which part of the increase is temporary.

The third concerns the landed cost of the product. Those who calculate the selling price of an imported item often update the ocean freight and forget inland transport: with an increase of 6% to 8% in one year, it is worth redoing the calculation for 2027 price lists.

What remains to be seen

The research describes 2026 and contains no forecast for next year's rates. Much will depend on the diesel price and on driver availability in peak months.

With La Merce, companies importing goods from Asia receive a quote that separates ocean freight from road transport in Italy, so the 6.4% rise in contract rates shows up straight away in the final cost and not after delivery.

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