Logistics, Supply Chain & Maritime in Southeast Europe

Sector Overview

Southeast Europe occupies a pivotal geographic position as the primary Southern and Eastern maritime and overland gateway into Central and Western Europe.

Mediterranean and Black Sea deep-water ports, combined with Pan-European Transport Corridors IV, V, VIII, and X, allow global shipping lines to bypass Western European port congestion and cut maritime transit times from Asia by up to five days.

Major logistics providers and port authorities are deploying multi-billion-euro capital allocations into deep-water container terminals, electrified intermodal rail corridors, automated distribution hubs, and cold-chain infrastructure across key transit nodes.

Despite these strategic advantages, regional logistics efficiency is often impaired by border-crossing bottlenecks between EU and non-EU jurisdictions, fragmented rail networks, and clearance delays in secondary trade corridors.

Stakeholders, Key Regional Investments & Projects

The logistics ecosystem comprises international container shipping lines, global third-party logistics (3PL) providers, port operators, and national railway freight agencies.

Global operators leading logistics networks include Maersk, MSC, COSCO Shipping, DP World, DHL, Kuehne + Nagel, and DB Schenker.

Regional port and logistics champions include Port of Koper in Slovenia, Port of Piraeus and Port of Thessaloniki in Greece, Port of Constanța in Romania, ENNA Logic in Croatia, and Milšped Group in Serbia.

The supporting network features customs brokerage advisories, short-sea shipping operators, specialized trucking fleets, and intermodal terminal operators.

Strategic port expansions and intermodal logistics investments anchor regional freight movement. In Constanța, Romania, DP World operates a modern deep-sea container terminal and added a €65 million Ro-Ro/project cargo terminal alongside a 119,000 m² multimodal logistics platform. In Piraeus, Greece, COSCO Shipping continues to maintain Piraeus as a top-tier Mediterranean transshipment hub. In Koper, Slovenia, Luka Koper is expanding Pier I container berths and integrating with the newly built €1B+ Divača–Koper second track railway, dramatically increasing daily train capacity into Austria, Germany, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

Inland intermodal hubs and distribution hubs expand supply chain reach across transit corridors. In Rijeka, Croatia, APM Terminals and ENNA Logic constructed the €380 million+ Rijeka Gateway terminal – a fully electrified, 5G-connected container hub designed to process up to 1.05 million TEUs at full capacity. In Belgrade and Niš, Serbia, Milšped Group operates automated warehousing complexes and the MBOX intermodal rail terminal in Popovac, connecting Western Balkan supply chains directly to Central and Northern European ports. In Sofia, Bulgaria, major 3PL providers operate modern fulfillment centers serving e-commerce platforms across Bulgaria and Romania.

Cross-border corridor infrastructure and regional logistics hubs complete the transport grid. In Thessaloniki, Greece, ThPA S.A. launched the Pier 6 expansion to accommodate 24,000 TEU Ultra Large Container Vessels while signing rail freight MoUs with Hellenic Train and BDZ to streamline northbound Corridor X transport. Along the Belgrade–Budapest railway corridor, higher-speed rail upgrades allow 200 km/h “Soko” freight and passenger links across the Serbian-Hungarian border. In Durrës and Porto Romano, Albania, public-private investments are constructing a €390M+ integrated commercial port and rail network targeting Kosovo and North Macedonia. Finally, in Podgorica and Bar, Montenegro, port and rail infrastructure upgrades focus on restoring freight throughput along the Belgrade–Bar rail axis.

Macro Growth Drivers & Future Outlook

Supply chain nearshoring and the relocation of manufacturing capacity to Southeast Europe generate continuous demand for high-capacity freight transit, intermodal transport, and modern warehousing.

Concurrently, e-commerce market expansion across the peninsula is driving unprecedented investment into modern last-mile distribution centers and automated fulfillment hubs.

The region’s strategic geographic advantage as a transit shortcut from the Suez Canal into Central Europe provides long-term structural value.