Logistics Horizon Scanner – October 2026

Industry news

Colliers has published its Industrial and Logistics Market Pulse for October 2026. It shows resilient occupier demand and anticipates that that the next market phase is likely to be shaped by a shortage of modern logistics stock.

The UK government is backing British shipbuilding with multi-billion-pound investment in two major maritime projects. The Royal Navy’s submarine service will receive three new floating docks, through a UK-only competition, in light of their importance to national security and sovereign British industry. It will also receive a new marine research vessel, set to be operational in the early 2030s, which will replace the current vessel which is nearing the end of its life. The investment is anticipated to strengthen the country’s industrial base and support skilled construction, manufacturing, defence and maritime jobs.

The government has announced the creation of Great British Grid (GBG), a new publicly owned body, within Great British Energy, which is intended to accelerate investment in Britain’s electricity networks and help businesses connect to the grid more quickly. GBG will invest public capital together with private investment in electricity network infrastructure, and will work alongside existing network operators. The government has also announced plans to expand self-build connections, allowing businesses and developers, where appropriate, to build their own grid connections rather than waiting for network companies to deliver them. Competitive tendering for new transmission infrastructure will also be accelerated. The announcement is particularly relevant to the logistics sector as operators increasingly require substantial new electricity connections to support the electrification of vehicle, depots, ports and warehousing.

Warehouse and Logistics News’ latest Business Energy Tracker report has found that companies have ranked energy as their top operational risk for the fourth year running.  Energy flexibility – the ability to shift electricity use from one time period to another, in response to grid signals and market prices – could be a valuable solution. We have commercial and real estate experts with dedicated energy sector and logistics knowledge. Contact us to discuss legal and practical options.

Insecure loads can cause serious injuries and fatalities on UK roads. The brewing and drinks industry faces unique challenges, from securing unstable cylindrical kegs, casks and barrels, to managing changing load dynamics during multi-drop deliveries. Logistics UK has updated its brewing and drinks load-security best-practice guide, providing practical, industry-specific advice to help operators and drivers comply with legislation and reduce risk across the supply chain.

Uber has partnered with drone delivery company Zipline to scale its drone delivery operations across the US. The first deployments will begin later in 2026, with investment planned to reach a million drone deliveries per day by the end of 2029. For the latest UK legal and commercial insights on drone use, see our recent article.

Also in relation to drones, a drone carrying explosives was this week discovered within the cargo area of Leipzig Airport, and a DHL freighter was later hit by an unknown object after taking off from the airport. The incidents caused several countries to ramp up security requirements for shipments from the UK and Europe.

A cyberattack on logistics giant CEVA in August disrupted warehouses across Europe and exposed customer data belonging to some of CEVA’s big-name clients. For help navigating the evolving legal and regulatory challenges surrounding data security, privacy and compliance, click here to access our cybersecurity tool.

The Construction Site Crime Report 2026 has found that tool theft is now the most common crime on sites. Anubis Group data suggests it’s significantly on the rise, with a 16% year on year increase. Rather than viewing storage as an afterthought, contractors are beginning to treat safe storage as part of their wider site logistics strategy, with some considering out of town warehouse options, and others considering flexible storage close to city centre projects.

Fly-tipping, protests and trespass generally are increasingly prevalent risks at manufacturing and logistics sites. For example, the BBC reported over the summer that around 400 tonnes of industrial waste had been dumped at the old Dewhirst factory site in Peterlee; the Supreme Court in McCafferty had to deal with legal issues arising from protests outside Müller UK’s dairy works at the Stonebridge Cross Industrial Estate; and ports in Dover and Portsmouth recently faced disruption from ‘small boat’ protest action.

The government has published its response to its electric vehicle excise duty (eVED) consultation from earlier this year. eVED, the government’s proposed pay per mile charge on electric cars, will be rolled out from April 2028. Participation will be voluntary, with a simpler user experience for those who opt in. eVED will apply to UK-registered EV cars, hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles, plug-in hybrid cars and range extender vehicles.

As of September 2026, Lidl has launched a fully autonomous electric truck on public roads in Germany. How quickly autonomous lorries can be rolled out beyond pilot routes will depend on regulation. Germany and 16 other EU member states are aiming to coordinate the development of automated vehicles and develop common standards so that they no longer have to stop at national borders.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has published new research examining how the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) and the Schengen 90-days-in-180 rule could affect GB’s road transport operators. Operators expected the impact of EES to become more significant. Among goods operators, 46% reported a negative impact to date, compared with 59% expecting a negative future impact.

Road, rail, ports and freight infrastructure

A new guide, The Local Highways Climate Adaptation Guide, has been published for local highway authorities, to support resilience planning across road networks as extreme weather events grow in frequency and severity.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed a legal challenge against the Gatwick expansion project, enabling Gatwick Airport’s second runway to be bought into full use. The first flights are expected to take off from the extended Northern Runway in 2030 and could mean an extra 10,000 flights a year.

The UK government has published a summary of responses to its call for evidence on challenges and opportunities around net zero ports. The full response can be viewed here. The next steps on the role of ports in maritime decarbonisation include: removing barriers to ports securing the energy they require, which will involve highlighting ports’ energy needs in strategic energy planning and connection reforms; and working with industry to understand ports’ ability to deliver, or enable third parties to deliver, the infrastructure required for maritime decarbonisation.

In related news, the government has published its revised National Policy Statement for Ports (NPSFP). The updated NPSFP gives a stronger policy basis for a wider range of port development, including offshore and floating offshore wind, hydrogen, ammonia, and other emerging energy commodities. The express presumption in favour of consent, together with the substantial weight to be given to economic benefits, should provide important support for future Development Consent Order applications.

The government is also seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at berth through a UK maritime fuel regulation, on which a consultation is expected later in 2026.

The DfT has published a briefing paper outlining the proposed structure of a Long‑Term Rail Strategy intended to guide rail investment across the UK for the next 30 years. The final Strategy is expected later in 2026.

The DfT has announced new interim 2040 targets for rail freight growth. The 2050 target is to increase freight moved by rail in net tonne kilometres by at least 75%. There’s also a new 2040 target to increase freight moved by rail in net tonne kilometres by at least 40%.  The Railways Bill, currently before Parliament, provides for the Transport Secretary to set a rail freight growth target for Great British Railways, which should embed the duty to grow rail freight into the new body’s decision-making.

Decarbonisation and climate resilience

The Tritax Big Box and Savills 2026 Future Space Report (FSR) looks at key trends shaping the Industrial and Logistics market horizon. It highlights challenges the logistics sector need to overcome on the net-zero journey.

The European Commission has published a series of guidance documents to assist non-EU operators with the implementation of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

The government is seeking to support the development of ‘first-of-a-kind’ Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production technologies, to help decarbonise aviation and strengthen energy supply security. It’s delivering a Revenue Certainty Mechanism (RCM) to help producers and investors build and scale SAF production plants in the UK. The SAF Bill has received Royal Assent and provides the legislative powers needed to implement the RCM and, on 13 July, the DfT published the SAF RCM: Contract Allocation Strategy.

Lloyds Banking Group has published a report, ‘ Built to Last: Climate Resilient Infrastructure Needs Transformative Investment‘. The report highlights several £billions annual shortfall in UK climate adaption investment. The Group aims to provide over £100 billion in sustainable and transition finance supporting adaptation and resilience from 2027 to 2030. The report focuses on energy, water and built environment infrastructure and it’s easy to anticipate consequential impacts across all sectors, including logistics. (An immediate example, the new Local Highways Climate Adaptation Guide, referred to above, looks at resilience planning across road networks as extreme weather events grow in frequency and severity.) The flip side of investment in new, climate resilient infrastructure is asset stranding – see our earlier article for more information.

Construction/development and real estate

The government published its new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on 17 August 2026. An explanation of the changes is set out in the Minister of State’s letter dated 17 August. Logistics UK has said that it welcomes the NPPF for its greater recognition of the sector’s role in supporting economic growth and resilient supply chains. The framework includes support for locating logistics developments near strategic transport networks, expanding EV charging infrastructure and ensuring sufficient, secure lorry parking. For more information on the new NPPF, see our ‘at a glance’ insights.

The government has published updated Compulsory Purchase Process: Guidance. Whilst underlying legal principles remain, the guidance signals a more flexible approach for progressing complex projects. It also provides for the arrival of conditional compulsory purchase orders, intended to reduce delays, avoid the need for re-determination, and support more timely delivery of projects.

We’ve reported, in earlier WM publications, on an emergent trend towards the legal recognition, and therefore enhanced protection, of rivers and other sites. Continuing that trend, the House of Lords has pushed through a proposed Nature’s Rights Bill that would recognise ecosystems and species as legal subjects. The aim is to transform how construction and engineering projects are planned and consented, placing nature at the centre of UK law by establishing a legal duty of care on public bodies and businesses to the natural environment. Although this is a Private Members Bill, it represents escalation of an issue that has been gathering pace, and that could significantly impact development. It’s one to watch.

The Supreme Court has granted permission to appeal in R (on the application of North Warwickshire Borough Council) v Secretary of State for Transport, with a full hearing scheduled for 7–8 December 2026. The case is concerned with project modifications and deemed planning permission under a projects empowering statutory authority. The Supreme Court’s decision will likely have significant implications for the delivery, design modification, and legal risk management of major infrastructure projects. One to watch.

Also on infrastructure projects, there’s an ongoing tension between the government’s attempts to facilitate various types of infrastructure developments and the objections of landowners potentially affected by that infrastructure. Barstow v Green Generation Energy Networks Cymru Ltd exemplifies that tension, and provides useful guidance as to how the courts will interpret statutory rights of entry (in this case, right of entry to carry out surveys). The High Court confirmed that statutory notices of entry must explain, as far as reasonably practicable and in plain language, what’s going to happen, where and when. It rejected any suggestion that such a notice could ‘run with the land’ and last indefinitely.

The UK Green Building Council has published a Whole Life Carbon Framework to help the built environment sector reduce and manage carbon emissions across the life cycle of buildings and support net zero aligned projects. For information and practical advice on how we can help businesses address ESG challenges in the built environment, see: ESG and UK real estate key considerations, Sustainability in the built environment and more.

The Construction Leadership Council has published its  Mental Health Joint Code of Practice – a framework to help foster better mental health in construction.

People in logistics

As AI becomes increasingly embedded across the UK logistics sector, a key issue of which employers should be aware is its potential impact on the gender gap. See here for our insights and advice on the fair roll-out of AI technologies.

The government has published its response to the consultation on the duty for employers to inform workers of their right to join a union. The duty will come into force on 1 January 2027 (rather than 30 October 2026 as previously anticipated).

See our recent articles for information and advice on the new trade union right to access workplaces: how employers can get ready and the major expansion of right to work compliance beyond direct employees from 1 October 2026.