Colombia Freight and Logistics Market Size, Share, Growth and Forecast, 2025-2035

Road haulage carries most value as port imports surge

The Colombia freight and logistics market was valued at USD 22.17 billion in 2025 and is projected to increase from USD 23.60 billion in 2026 to USD 40.11 billion by 2035, registering a CAGR of 6.07% during 2026–2035. Demand comes from the trucking of consumer goods, fuels and food between the Andean cities and the coasts, from container imports through the Caribbean and Pacific ports, and from parcel delivery for online retailers. Bogotá-Cundinamarca held 32.0% of 2025 value, the largest regional share, because the capital district and its surrounding department concentrate the most consumers, distribution centers and air cargo. The Pacific-Buenaventura Corridor is the fastest-growing region at 7.0% a year, as more import containers move through Buenaventura toward Cali and Bogotá. On the policy side, rail freight on the central corridor between the Magdalena valley and the Caribbean has resumed at commercial scale under a new concession, which gives bulk shippers an alternative to long truck hauls.

Trucking, forwarding, warehousing and customs form one estimate

The estimate measures revenue earned by companies that move, store and clear goods for shippers in Colombia. It covers road, maritime, air and rail freight services billed in the country, freight forwarding, contract logistics and warehousing, customs brokerage and trade compliance, and value-added services such as fulfillment, kitting and labeling.

The estimate excludes passenger transport, pipelines, the in-house fleets of shippers that do not bill a third party, port terminal handling charges collected by port operators, and the value of the goods themselves. The value chain runs from shippers through forwarders, carriers, warehouse operators and customs agencies to ports, airports and final consignees.

Trucking leads while rail and fulfillment grow fastest

Why does freight transportation earn most logistics spending?

Based on service type, the market is categorized into freight transportation, freight forwarding, contract logistics, customs brokerage and trade compliance, and value-added logistics. Freight Transportation led with 57.0% of 2025 value, because transport made up 44.5% of company logistics costs in the 2024 national logistics survey, against 22.4% for storage, according to Analdex. Value-Added Logistics grows fastest at 7.4% a year, as online purchases reached 684.6 million transactions in 2025, up 19.9%, according to the Colombian Chamber of Electronic Commerce. Each order needs picking, packing and returns handling, which shippers increasingly buy from third parties.

How much of Colombian freight still moves by truck?

Based on mode of transport, the market is categorized into road freight, maritime freight, air freight and rail freight. Road Freight led with 74.5% of 2025 value, because trucks moved more than 151 million tons in 2025 while the main active rail corridor carried about 1 million tons, according to the Ministry of Transport and the Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura. Rail Freight grows fastest at 9.5% a year from a small base, as the Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura reported that the La Dorada to Chiriguaná line more than tripled its volume in 2025. Rail still lacks direct links to most ports, so trucks keep the first and last legs of these trips.

Which cargo flows add the most new logistics revenue?

Based on shipment flow, the market is categorized into domestic inland freight, export freight, import freight and transit and transshipment. Domestic Inland Freight led with 55.0% of 2025 value, because the national dispatch register logged more than 13 million road trips in 2025, against 11,515 vessel arrivals at Colombian ports, according to Supertransporte. Import Freight grows fastest at 6.9% a year, as port import tonnage rose 9.9% in 2025 while export tonnage fell 12.3%. Imports also carry more value per ton than coal and oil exports, so they generate more forwarding and customs work.

Which industries buy the most freight and logistics?

Based on end-use industry, the market is categorized into wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, agriculture and food, mining and energy, and construction and infrastructure. Wholesale and Retail Trade led with 30.0% of 2025 value, because corn, mixed goods and parcels were the solid cargoes with the most road traffic in 2025, according to the Ministry of Transport. Agriculture and Food grows fastest at 6.7% a year, as sugar exports through Buenaventura rose 16.5% and unroasted coffee 7.9% in 2025 while coal fell 12.9%, according to the Cali Chamber of Commerce. Food shippers buy refrigerated trucking and export forwarding that bulk coal miners rarely need.

Diesel, tolls and port charges set Colombian freight rates

Road freight in Colombia is priced per trip or per ton between origin and destination, and the Ministry of Transport publishes reference operating costs through its SICE-TAC system, which shippers and carriers use as a reference in negotiations. Forwarders charge per container or per kilogram plus surcharges, contract logistics is billed per pallet position or per order, and parcel networks charge per shipment by weight and zone. Diesel, tolls and waiting time move road rates most, while port and municipal charges add to drayage. Carriers with fuel clauses and backhaul cargo keep better margins.

Road volumes, container imports and rail lift demand

How do domestic road volumes keep trucking demand growing?

Domestic road freight is the base load of the market, because almost every consumer good, fuel shipment and food delivery in Colombia spends part of its trip on a truck. The Ministry of Transport recorded more than 151 million tons moved by road in 2025, up 3.7% from 2024, across more than 13 million trips, as reported by Portafolio. Valle del Cauca ranked first as both origin and destination, ahead of Cundinamarca and Antioquia. The same register counted 2,620 cargo companies, so demand is spread across many carriers rather than a few. Road freight already holds 74.5% of 2025 value, and steady consumer spending keeps that base growing even when export bulk cargo weakens.

Why are container imports lifting forwarding and port logistics?

Container imports are the fastest source of new revenue for forwarders, customs agencies and drayage carriers, because each box needs booking, clearance and inland delivery. Colombian ports handled 6,227,205 TEU in 2025, up 17.2% from 2024, according to the Superintendencia de Transporte. That increase added 913,360 TEU in one year, according to the same Supertransporte bulletin. Import tonnage rose 9.9% in the same year, even as coal and oil exports declined. Import freight grows fastest by shipment flow at 6.9% a year, which favors forwarders with strong Asia and U.S. lanes. Container volume at Buenaventura grew 21.6% in 2025, faster than the national total, according to Analdex.

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Can rail and multimodal corridors win bulk cargo from trucks?

The revival of freight rail gives bulk shippers between the interior and the Caribbean a cheaper option than long truck hauls, and it creates new transfer and storage work at rail yards. The Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura reported that the 526-kilometer La Dorada to Chiriguaná corridor carried 1,030,789 tons between January and November 2025, 350% more than in all of 2024. The agency signed the first rail public-private partnership for the corridor, valued at COP 3.39 trillion, with the Línea Férrea Central consortium in 2025. Rail freight grows fastest by mode at 9.5% a year, although from a small base.

How does online retail push parcel and fulfillment volumes?

Online retail is turning freight into many small shipments, which shifts spending toward parcel networks, urban delivery and fulfillment centers. The Colombian Chamber of Electronic Commerce reported online sales of COP 145.4 trillion in 2025, up 11.1% from 2024, as reported by El Colombiano. The postal bulletin of the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications counted 84.1 million express shipments in the first quarter of 2026, 11.1 million more than a year earlier. Coordinadora, which invested in more than 155 new vehicles in 2025, told Portafolio that the November and December season, which starts with Black Friday, brings about 15% of its annual sales. Value-added logistics grows fastest by service type at 7.4% a year as these volumes climb.

Inland depots, electric vans and new ports reshape supply

Rise of inland container yards around Bogotá

Carriers and forwarders are moving container storage and cargo services inland, close to the Bogotá consumer market, instead of keeping them only at the ports. Maersk opened a logistics center in Tocancipá in June 2024 with a 23,000-square-meter container yard, a 3,378-square-meter warehouse and room for up to 1,600 containers, according to La República. DHL Global Forwarding reinforced its pharmaceutical center in Bogotá for temperature-controlled cargo, Portafolio reported in August 2025. Because the capital region is the largest consumer market, inland yards cut empty container returns to the coast and shorten delivery times for importers in the capital.

Shift to electric vans and trucks in city delivery

Parcel and distribution companies are adding electric vehicles for city routes, where short daily distances suit battery range and diesel prices have risen. TCC runs 20 electric trucks in Bogotá, Medellín, Barranquilla and Cartagena, each with an 81.14 kWh battery, according to La República in July 2025. The company reports maintenance costs about 50% lower than for diesel units. DANE data show fuel costs for road freight rose 13.57% in the year to March 2025, as reported by Portafolio. Operators that run electric trucks on dense urban routes can protect margins when diesel subsidies are cut further.

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Can Puerto Antioquia open a new Urabá gateway?

Puerto Antioquia gives exporters and importers in the Medellín region a Caribbean port much closer than Cartagena, which opens room for new trucking, forwarding and warehousing services in Urabá. CMA CGM launched the first regular call on Dec. 20, 2025, with the 6,874-TEU CMA CGM Imagination, according to ABC Economía. CMA CGM, Eiffage and Astris Finance provided USD 770 million of the USD 800 million project, which plans 600,000 TEU a year in its first phase. The terminal formally began operating on Feb. 5, 2026, according to Forbes Colombia. Carriers that set up Medellín to Turbo shuttles early can win volume that now travels to Cartagena.

Is customs compliance an opening for mid-size shippers?

The new customs rules and the high logistics costs of smaller firms create demand for outsourced customs brokerage and compliance services. Decree 659 of May 22, 2024, which began to take effect on June 7, 2024, changed rules on seizures, transit and free zone movements, according to Analdex. Analdex also found that 57.6% of importers did not know the advance declaration mechanism in its November 2025 note. The 2022 national logistics survey put logistics costs at 24.3% of sales for small companies against 12.1% for large ones, according to Portafolio. Customs agencies and forwarders that package clearance with transport can win these mid-size accounts.

Fuel, blockades and port access raise operating costs

How do diesel and toll increases squeeze carrier margins?

Operating costs for road carriers have risen faster than freight rates in recent years, because the government has cut its diesel subsidy. DANE's road freight cost index rose 8.31% in the year to March 2025, with fuels up 13.57% and tolls up 12.82%, as reported by Portafolio. A nationwide truckers' strike in early September 2024 followed the diesel increase, according to La República. Smaller owner-operators feel this most, and fuel surcharge clauses in contracts are the main mitigation.

Why do road blockades and insecurity raise delivery risk?

Road blockades, landslides and armed groups interrupt freight on key corridors, which raises delivery times and insurance costs. Colfecar counted about 700 road blockades in 2025, with losses near COP 1.9 trillion, according to a Gallagher report cited by Portafolio in July 2026. The government reported 190 emergencies on the national road network in early 2026. Carriers respond with convoy scheduling, satellite tracking and alternative routes, which add cost to every trip.

How does congested access to Buenaventura delay cargo?

The single road into Buenaventura makes the Pacific port slow and costly to reach, so delays hit importers in Cali and Bogotá. Trucks needed six to eight hours for the roughly 70 kilometers from Alto de Calima, and they waited up to 12 more hours to unload, according to La República in May 2026. Fedetranscarga estimated that each closure day stops about 57,000 tons of cargo. Appointment systems and inland yards reduce, but do not remove, these delays.

Why does truck overcapacity keep freight rates thin?

The trucking fleet has grown faster than cargo volumes, which keeps rates low even as costs climb. Road trips rose 28.8% between 2022 and 2025 while tonnage rose only 11.6%, and the average trip fell from 328.3 to 277.2 kilometers, according to a Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana study reported by Portafolio. The manager of Coltanques said in January 2025 that idle vehicles were raising fixed costs. Consolidation and backhaul matching platforms are the main remedies carriers now use.

Bogotá leads, while the Pacific corridor grows fastest

The Colombia freight and logistics market is split into five corridors that follow consumer demand, port gateways and industrial output, and smaller departments are grouped with the corridor that serves them. Corridor shares and growth rates are Credence Research estimates built from DANE departmental GDP and port, air and road cargo data.

Why does Bogotá-Cundinamarca hold the largest corridor share?

Bogotá-Cundinamarca held 32.0% of 2025 value and grows at 5.6% a year, because the capital and its surrounding department are the largest consumer market and distribution hub. Bogotá produced 25.4% of 2025 national GDP and Cundinamarca 6.3%, together 31.7%, according to DANE. El Dorado airport handled 810,800 tons of cargo in 2025, a 74.2% share of the national total, according to Analdex data reported by Portafolio. Most national parcel networks and forwarders run their main sorting centers and bonded warehouses here.

Cartagena moves most containers and transshipment cargo

The Caribbean Port Corridor held 27.0% of 2025 value and grows at 6.2% a year, as Cartagena serves as the main container gateway and transshipment hub. Cartagena moved 51.3 million tons in 2025, a 29.5% share of national port traffic, according to Supertransporte. Its terminals handled about 4.05 million TEU, around a 65% share of the national total, and about 22.7 million tons of transshipment, according to Analdex. The World Bank reported in June 2024 that Cartagena rose to third place in its container port performance ranking. Barranquilla, Santa Marta and Ciénaga add bulk, coal and general cargo flows.

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A new Caribbean port shortens Antioquia trade routes

Antioquia-Medellín held 17.0% of 2025 value and grows at 6.5% a year, faster than the national pace, as the region gains its own Caribbean port. Antioquia produced 15.0% of 2025 national GDP, according to DANE. José María Córdova airport in Rionegro handled 132,158 tons of cargo in 2025, according to La República. A truck can now cover the Medellín to Turbo route in about seven hours and return the same day, Portafolio reported in December 2025.

Container imports through Buenaventura drive the fastest growth

The Pacific-Buenaventura Corridor held 12.0% of 2025 value and grows fastest at 7.0% a year, because Buenaventura is the main Pacific gateway for container imports. The port moved 23.1 million tons in 2025, up 11.8%, and about 1.70 million TEU, up 21.6%, according to Analdex. Imports made up 87.3% of its volume, led by yellow maize, wheat and soybean cake, according to the Cali Chamber of Commerce. Inland trucking demand to Cali and Bogotá rises with every additional import container.

Valle del Cauca leads road cargo origins and destinations

The Southwest-Cali Corridor held 12.0% of 2025 value and grows at 5.7% a year, slower than the Pacific port zone because more of its freight is domestic. Valle del Cauca produced 9.8% of 2025 national GDP, according to DANE. The department ranked first as both origin and destination of road cargo in 2025, according to the Ministry of Transport. Alfonso Bonilla Aragón airport in Cali handled 24,032 tons of cargo, serving sugar, food and consumer goods shippers.

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Port, rail and forwarding moves, 2024–2026

Dispatch registers, tracking and customs systems set pace

• The national cargo dispatch register (RNDC) records every road trip with its manifest, which gives regulators and shippers a shared view of volumes and routes.
• Satellite and GPS tracking lets carriers monitor trucks on corridors with blockade or theft risk and reroute them in real time.
• Transport management software matches loads with trucks and plans backhauls, which reduces empty kilometers for fleets that pay rising diesel costs.
• Electronic customs declarations allow importers to file before cargo arrives under the new customs rules, which shortens dwell time at ports and airports.
• Warehouse management systems track inventory and orders in fulfillment centers, so parcel networks can serve online retail clients at peak season.

Parcel networks and global forwarders split the market

Competition in the Colombia freight and logistics market splits between national networks that own the domestic last mile and global forwarders that control international lanes. The MinTIC postal bulletin counted 12.8 million express shipments for Inter Rapidísimo in the first quarter of 2026, against 6.6 million for Coordinadora and 5.9 million for Servientrega. TCC adds parcel, freight and warehousing services, while Coltanques moves more than 7 million tons a year with over 1,384 trucks, according to La Nota Económica. DSV completed its acquisition of Schenker in April 2025, DHL Global Forwarding strengthened pharmaceutical handling in Bogotá, and Rhenus bought the Colombia-based Blu Logistics. Maersk and CEVA Logistics link ocean shipping with inland yards and warehouses, and forwarders also sell air cargo capacity for exporters and importers. Avianca Cargo carried more than 100,000 tons of flowers from Colombia and Ecuador in 2025, according to Forbes Colombia, which makes it the main air freight option for flower exporters.

Thousands of truckers and a few integrated networks shape supply

Supply in the Colombia freight and logistics market is organized in three layers. At the base, 2,620 cargo companies and more than 166,000 vehicles reported trips in the national dispatch register in 2025, many of them small owner-operators contracted by larger firms. Above them, national networks such as Coordinadora, Servientrega, Inter Rapidísimo and TCC run hubs, offices and fleets. Global forwarders and shipping lines control international lanes and bonded warehouses. Margins sit with firms that own customer contracts, customs licenses and network density, not with the trucks.

Companies profiled and their roles in this market

Imports and parcels will outgrow bulk export cargo

Credence Research's view is that the Colombia freight and logistics market will grow faster than the wider economy, because container imports, online retail and rail reactivation all add services that pay more per ton than bulk exports. Container demand, up 17.2% in TEU terms in 2025, shows where new revenue will come from. Road freight keeps the largest share, but value-added logistics, import forwarding and rail gain from small bases. The Pacific-Buenaventura Corridor should grow fastest, while Bogotá-Cundinamarca keeps the largest share. Winners will combine national delivery networks, customs know-how and inland yards, while managing fuel, security and port-access risks that still keep Colombian logistics costs high.

Road, port and air registers anchor the model

The report uses 2025 as the base year on a calendar basis, and market values come from the Credence Research model. That model combines Ministry of Transport road dispatch data, Superintendencia de Transporte port statistics, air cargo data reported by Analdex, DANE national and departmental accounts and cost indexes, MinTIC postal statistics, World Bank port data and company announcements. Segment splits, corridor shares and corridor growth rates are Credence Research estimates built from cargo volumes and regional output. Sources used are government statistics, international agencies, trade associations, trade press and company releases, and no interviews or surveys were used.

Containers, rail and parcels carry growth to 2035

Freight and logistics revenue in Colombia is expected to reach USD 40.11 billion by 2035, a 6.07% CAGR during 2026–2035, as container imports, parcel volumes and rail freight grow faster than bulk exports. Road haulage stays the largest mode, while intermodal transport gains share where rail links reach the ports. Bogotá-Cundinamarca keeps its lead, while the Pacific corridor and Antioquia gain from new port capacity. Growth would slow if blockades and fuel costs rose sharply, while faster rail and port projects would lift the forecast toward the upside case.

Import growth and road security set the range of outcomes

In the base case, revenue grows from the 2026 value along the central forecast as container imports, parcels and rail volumes keep their recent pace. The downside case assumes more road blockades, weaker consumer spending and further diesel increases that freight rates cannot pass on, a risk shown by the 700 road blockades that stalled freight demand in 2025. The upside case adds faster rail growth, a quick ramp-up at Puerto Antioquia and better access to Buenaventura.

Note: The depth of individual sections depends on data availability for this market. Volume, capacity, trade and other unit-based metrics are included where applicable.