An analysis of the conclusions from the Decision Lab of the IV Congress of the Spanish Transport Association: an unvarnished diagnosis of the main challenges facing transport in Spain.
There are questions that no official forum asks because the answer is politically uncomfortable.
The Decision Lab of the IV Congress of the Spanish Transport Association
(AET), held in Madrid in April 2026, set out to ask them. Twenty-three sector experts responded in real time, unfiltered and without spokespersons.
The results reveal five uncomfortable truths that will shape the agenda of the logistics sector in the coming years:
1. The geopolitical opportunity exists, but we’re letting it slip away
The reconfiguration of global supply routes places Spain in a uniquely strategic position. Yet 65% of experts believe Spain is only partially prepared to absorb the new traffic flows this transformation will generate.
2. We lack talent and suffer from regulatory excess
Talent and workforce scarcity (34.8%) and excessive regulation (34.8%) tie as the main competitiveness barriers. Interestingly, it’s not energy costs. It’s not digitalisation gaps. It’s the structural difficulty of finding qualified professionals in a sector that transforms faster than its talent pipeline.
3. The sector absorbs costs it shouldn’t bear
More than half of respondents (52.2%) report that cost increases have only been partially passed on to service prices. The culprit: large shippers’ pricing pressure is the greatest financial risk (36.4%). This is a power balance problem, not a market failure.
4. In safety, the problem isn’t regulation
Surprising result: no one on the panel asked for stricter regulations.
Instead, 43.5% point to investment gaps, and 39.1% note that existing regulations simply aren’t enforced. The diagnosis is clear: we have the
legal framework, but lack the funding and implementation culture.
5. Digital transformation equals competitiveness, and time is running out
75% of responses concentrated on competition with other European hubs and digital/automation transformation. Without profound digital transformation, maintaining competitive position at the European scale will be impossible.
This analysis was originally published in the context of the IV Congress of the Spanish Transport Association (AET), held in Madrid in April 2026.
Read the full analysis on the specialised magazine Ruta del Transporte.