By Maria Kalamatas | May 12, 2025
Istanbul, TÜRKİYE
Along Türkiye’s freight corridors—from Ankara to Mersin—small logistics companies are doing something they rarely did a few years ago: working together.
Faced with rising fuel costs, complex customs rules, and growing pressure from international freight giants, many mid-sized Turkish operators have started forming regional alliances, sharing resources and consolidating routes.
“It’s not about getting bigger,” explains Serkan Aydin, a freight company owner based in Bursa. “It’s about surviving, and doing more with what we have.”
These partnerships don’t involve billion-euro acquisitions or dramatic takeovers. Instead, they take shape quietly—through shared warehousing agreements, cross-use of trucking fleets, and integration of tracking systems.
The benefits are already visible. A small cold-chain provider in Kayseri recently partnered with an Istanbul-based courier firm. The result? A 20% improvement in delivery times across three provinces, and a significant drop in returns linked to handling errors.
For companies that used to operate independently, the change feels both unfamiliar and necessary.
“There was a time we thought being local was enough,” Aydin says. “Now, if you don’t connect, you get left behind.”
Public agencies are starting to support the shift. Regional authorities have introduced logistics tax relief for operators who adopt digital coordination tools or invest in clean transport solutions—two areas where pooled investment helps smaller companies compete.
Abroad, investors are watching. A group from Germany is reportedly in talks with two Turkish cooperatives about using their network to reach the Balkans. Others are eyeing the Caucasus and Central Asia as extensions of this new logistics model.
The change isn’t flashy. It’s not even fast. But it’s happening.
And for Türkiye’s mid-tier freight sector, it might be the difference between fighting for market share—or building it together.
