23.5.2026 | Logistics

As the logistics industry prepares for Multimodal 2026, from 30 June to 2 July, this year’s event is expected to reflect a sector under growing operational pressure and rapid transformation.

Rising costs, sustainability targets, shifting customer expectations and increasing supply chain complexity are reshaping how logistics businesses operate across transport, warehousing, ports, fulfilment and distribution networks.

The launch of UK Logistics Week alongside Multimodal 2026 also reflects how interconnected the industry has become. Transport, warehousing, yard operations, logistics technology and last-mile delivery are increasingly seen as part of a single operational ecosystem rather than as standalone functions.

What UK Logistics Week arguably reflects most clearly is the growing convergence of logistics. Warehousing, transport, yard operations, fulfilment, and technology are no longer operating in isolation. Increasingly, operational performance – and the ability to improve efficiency and sustainability at scale – depends on how effectively those environments connect, communicate and respond together in live operational conditions.

While AI, automation and visibility technologies are expected to dominate many conversations across the exhibition halls and conference stages, operational execution may emerge as one of the defining themes of this year’s event.

As interest in AI accelerates across the sector, many operators are now looking beyond headline innovation to focus more closely on practical operational value, workflow integration, and decision-making speed.

In recent years, the industry has invested heavily in visibility. Operators can now access more data than ever across supply chains and logistics networks.

The challenge now is what happens next.

In many operations, the problem is no longer a lack of information. It is the growing gap between visibility and coordinated action.

For many logistics businesses, the issue is no longer simply identifying disruption – it is responding to it quickly enough across fragmented operational environments.

Port congestion, changing ETA windows, slot availability, customs readiness, rail scheduling, warehouse pressures, and driver allocation continue to strain day-to-day execution. Delays in one part of the network can quickly create operational and financial consequences elsewhere.

As logistics operations become more interconnected across transport, warehousing, fulfilment and distribution, they also become more dependent on coordination among multiple providers, systems and operational environments.

That shift is expected to shape many of the discussions at Multimodal 2026.

Robert Jervis, Multimodal Show Director, said: “Multimodal has always reflected the changing priorities of the logistics industry, and this year we expect to see strong discussion around resilience, operational efficiency, connectivity and the practical role technology can play across increasingly integrated supply chains.”

He added: “The launch of UK Logistics Week also reflects how closely linked different parts of the logistics sector have now become operationally.”

For many visitors, that wider operational picture is becoming increasingly important.

As the industry gathers in Birmingham this summer, one of the defining questions may not simply be how supply chains become more connected – but whether increasingly complex logistics networks can operate with the speed, coordination and resilience modern supply chains now demand.