{"id":46226,"date":"2026-09-25T17:26:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T15:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vinexposium.com\/?p=46226"},"modified":"2026-09-28T11:19:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T09:19:39","slug":"when-every-mile-counts-how-bulk-wine-logistics-are-adapting-to-volatility-and-cost-pressures-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vinexposium.com\/en\/actus\/impact\/when-every-mile-counts-how-bulk-wine-logistics-are-adapting-to-volatility-and-cost-pressures\/","title":{"rendered":"When every mile counts: how bulk wine logistics are adapting to volatility and cost pressures"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: <\/strong>Sharon Nagel<\/p>\n

Escalating freights costs, ongoing supply chain disruptions and shifts in consumer demand are redefining the parameters of the bulk wine trade \u2013 driving the emergence of more agile, responsive sourcing models. As logistics settle into a more complex \u2018new normal\u2019, we ask Horst Mueller, Global Head of Vinlog at Kuehne+Nagel, how trade routes and supply chains are adapting under pressure.<\/strong>\"Vue \u00a9 Adobe Stock<\/p>\n

Freight volatility is no longer a cyclical disruption but a structural feature of the bulk wine trade. While ocean freight rates and fuel costs have eased from the extreme peaks of 2021-2022, they remain above pre-Covid levels, reshaping cost expectations across the sector. A combination of tighter environmental regulations, chokepoint disruptions, port congestion and most recently the surge in oil prices continues to expose the fragility of global logistics \u2013 both in terms of cost and lead times. Although the conflict in the Middle East does not directly disrupt bulk wine shipping, its indirect effects are tangible. Equipment shortages and renewed freight rate fluctuations are compounding an already strained cost equation for wine.<\/p>\n

Crucially, the pressure extends well beyond ocean freight: the entire supply chain is affected, creating a cumulative inflationary effect to which inland logistics add another layer of complexity. Extensive rail and road transport in both supply and destination markets, combined with region-specific pressures such as tariffs in the United States and frontloading mitigation strategies are further driving up costs. \u201cYou have to warehouse the product, you potentially have it in the wrong place and then have to redistribute it\u201d, notes Horst Mueller, who is based in the US. \u201cLogistically, the cost burden weighs very heavily on our customers and the wine industry as a whole \u2013 and the consumer is not willing to pay for the extra cost\u201d.<\/p>\n

Interchangeable origins<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Against this backdrop, the question is no longer how to absorb these cost pressures but how to mitigate and navigate them. Operators across the bulk sector are being forced to rethink how and where they source, move and position wine. \u201cFor bulk wine in particular, flows have changed quite significantly. It\u2019s becoming extremely price-driven, led by the end consumer who wants a certain wine at a specific price point\u201d. The continued expansion of private labels has fuelled this shift, enabling a greater degree of interchangeability between origins. Rather than provenance, buyers are prioritising style and cost alignment, calling the shots in a buyers\u2019 market. \u201cFrom inquiries, we are seeing that origin doesn\u2019t necessarily matter \u2013 the wine has to have certain characteristics and hit a particular price point. That\u2019s where freight becomes an integral part of the equation\u201d. Logistics are becoming a lever for optimisation. Cost pressures are driving a shift towards higher-capacity transport formats, with growing adoption of 26,000-litre flexitanks, offering an additional 8% in volume. \u201cWe are seeing a clear push in that direction\u201d, Mueller notes, while cautioning that regulatory constraints have to be factored in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe formats cannot be used in California, for example, because of road restrictions\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Other regulatory changes are also actively reshaping shipment flows. The introduction of the new duty system in the United Kingdom provided the catalyst for a rethink of long-standing bottling models. \u201cSeveral customers have changed their approach\u201d, notes Mueller. \u201cWhere they previously bottled everything for Europe in the UK, products are now becoming more UK-specific, with lower ABV levels that are not tailored to other European markets\u201d. As a result, bottling activities are being redistributed across the continent. Facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy are stepping in to plug the gap, while simultaneously adapting their sourcing strategies for dry goods. Geopolitical pressure is indeed redefining supply chains for packaging materials. \u201cUkraine used to be a fairly large supplier of glass, which is of course no longer the case. Some volumes also came out of the Middle East. In the US, sourcing patterns have shifted with a growing number of bottles now coming out of Mexico\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"zoom \u00a9 Adobe Stock<\/p>\n

Constant adaptation<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Asked whether supply chains have shortened in response to sustained cost pressure and disruption, Mueller points instead to fundamentally different procurement models across markets. \u201cIn the UK, for example, bottlers typically don\u2019t hold bulk wine on site. The wine is imported, placed in a holding tank then bottled almost immediately \u2013 a just-in-time approach. In producing countries such as Germany, by contrast, bottlers are also operating wineries with larger storage capacity and the ability to hold stock on site\u201d. Rather than shortening, supply chains are becoming more variable, shaped by a combination of structural, seasonal and short-term disruptions that require constant adaptation.<\/p>\n

\u201cShipping routes out of Australia, for example, are now longer which requires different planning. Services from California are facing disruption due to limited vessel availability, adding up to two weeks to lead times. And seasonal factors also play a role \u2013 last year, the pass between Argentina and Chile was closed for almost two weeks\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fluctuating consumer demand, style availability and excess inventory also constantly redefine trade flows, some of which have become counterintuitive. \u201cSome of our customers or buyers have now become suppliers \u2013 they used to buy bulk wine because of limited availability but now have too much and are selling. If you told me ten years that I would ship wine from Australia to South Africa, I would have said you were crazy, but this is happening. There\u2019s also a lot of movement within Europe\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sustainability commitments<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

As some shippers redesign their supply chains to reduce exposure to long-haul volatility, multimodal and more regionalised strategies are gaining traction. Rail \u2013 and increasingly inland waterways \u2013 are being used to take freight off the road wherever possible. \u201cWe are shipping wine into Rotterdam or Antwerp and then moving it by barge to inland hubs such as Duisburg, the Frankfurt area or Bonn, reducing final road miles\u201d, explains Mueller. \u201cIt adds a little lead time, but we\u2019re talking days, not weeks\u201d. At the same time, the push towards lower-emissions logistics is accelerating. Electric vehicles are increasingly in demand for last-mile delivery of bottled consignments, while hydrogen remains a long-term prospect. Yet, here too, trade-offs persist. \u201cThese low-emission solutions are firmly on our customers\u2019 radar, but ultimately it all comes down to dollars and cents\u201d. While sustainability is being more embedded in regulation and corporate strategy, it continues to compete with commercial realities. \u201cSome companies remain firmly committed, others less so, but many are still actively looking for green solutions, including recycling options. Quality control tends to want the Mercedes solution, while procurement looks for the Volkswagen \u2013 the reality lies somewhere in between. We offer both: full intermodal solutions, combining rail and electric vehicles, alongside more traditional road-based models by truck\u201d.<\/p>\n

Leveraging digitalisation<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Cost pressures and freight volatility are also expediting the adoption of digital tools across the logistics chain. Real-time tracking solutions now give shippers granular visibility over vessel locations, container availability, temperature control, customs clearance and documentation compliance \u2013 turning data into a critical operational asset. \u201cWe have customers that are thoroughly planning their supply chain through our KN tools. The digitalisation era of transport is no longer a future trend \u2013 it\u2019s already here\u201d. In this context, digital visibility is now an essential enabler of the agility required to navigate a volatile logistics environment. What is emerging across-the-board is a fundamentally reconfigured supply chain for bulk wines where flexibility, precision and proximity matter as much as scale.<\/p>\n

About Sharon Nagel<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"SharonBritish-born Sharon Nagel has been a journalist and translator specialising in wine for 35 years. She writes for leading French online publication Vitisphere and also contributes to corporate communications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: Sharon Nagel Escalating freights costs, ongoing supply chain disruptions and shifts in consumer demand are redefining the parameters of the bulk wine trade \u2013 driving the emergence of more agile, responsive sourcing models. As logistics settle (\u2026)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":46137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[341],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impact","format-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhen every mile counts: how bulk wine logistics are adapting to volatility and cost pressures – Vinexposium<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vinexposium.com\/en\/actus\/impact\/when-every-mile-counts-how-bulk-wine-logistics-are-adapting-to-volatility-and-cost-pressures\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When every mile counts: how bulk wine logistics are adapting to volatility and cost pressures – Vinexposium\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Author: Sharon Nagel Escalating freights costs, ongoing supply chain disruptions and shifts in consumer demand are redefining the parameters of the bulk wine trade \u2013 driving the emergence of more agile, responsive sourcing models. 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