New trade corridors to reshape Eastern Europe’s logistics landscape
As global supply chains reconfigure in response to geopolitical shifts, war, and nearshoring trends, logistics experts believe that Central and Eastern Europe is emerging as a critical bridgehead — but infrastructure chokepoints and inconsistent planning remain key hurdles.
At the “From the Baltic to the Black Sea” panel during The CEE Summit on 4–5 June 2025 in Warsaw, speakers from the infrastructure, real estate, and supply chain sectors debated the impact of changing trade routes, with a particular focus on Poland’s Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK) megaproject.
“The logistics map of Europe is being redrawn, and Poland is right at the centre of it,” said Filip Czernicki, the CEO of CPK, the state-backed developer of Poland’s new airport and multimodal transport hub. “It’s not just an airport — it’s a gateway. It’s about unlocking connectivity between the Baltics and the Balkans.”
Czernicki emphasised that CPK was intended to be more than just a national infrastructure project. “This is about redefining the spine of European logistics. And if we get it right, regional cities across Poland will benefit — not just Warsaw.”
He added: “CPK is not about building a new terminal. It’s about creating a new transport spine for Poland and Europe. We have to think about how air, rail, and road integrate to create resilience.”
Charles Baker, head of the Intermodal Europe-Mediterranean region at PSA International, a global port and cargo operator headquartered in Singapore, said that port-to-rail integration remains patchy across much of the CEE region. “The missing link is not ambition — it’s coordination. You’ve got good nodes, but the connectors are weak.”
He also said: “You cannot build an intermodal corridor without clarity on what moves through it. Is it automotive? Food? Textiles? You need that level of logistics intelligence before laying track.”
He added: “We need to think beyond just containers and warehouses. It’s about time, cost, and predictability. If a truck is stuck for hours at a border crossing, the whole system fails.”
René Buck, president and CEO of BCI Global, a Netherlands-based location strategy and supply chain advisory firm, said clients are seriously reassessing their supply chains in response to recent global shocks. “Nearshoring is real — but it’s not a blanket move. What we’re seeing is a recalibration: some functions are coming closer, others are being diversified.”
“Cost is no longer the only driver,” he added. “Risk is now just as important. If you can’t ship something for three weeks because of a customs bottleneck, you lose customers. CEE is attractive — but it must remain competitive on cost and speed. Infrastructure and labour will make or break it.”
Przemysław Piętak, industrial and logistics business development director at CBRE Poland, part of the global property consultancy, said warehouse growth was spreading beyond core cities. “The second-tier hubs are getting more interest. Tenants want resilience. That means multiple locations, redundancy, and access to both rail and road.”
He also noted that military planning was beginning to shape logistics decisions. “What’s interesting is that defence infrastructure — bases, corridors, strategic reserves — is aligning with civilian freight corridors. It’s a new layer of planning.”
He added: “There’s growing interest in logistics assets that serve both commercial and strategic functions. Investors are starting to look at resilience in a whole new way.”
Moderator Richard Betts, founding partner at Real Asset Media, summed up the session’s mood: “It feels like the tectonic plates are shifting. The question is — will the private sector and public sector finally sync up in time?”
