InPost Under Advent–FedEx Control, Container Rate Decline, and Strike Wave in European Transport

A consortium of investors composed of Advent International, Fed. Ex Corp., A&R Investments (the vehicle of Rafał Brzoska), and PPF Group agreed with In. Post S. A. on the terms of the recommended public offer^[1] at €15.60 per share. The company’s valuation reaches about €7.8 billion^[4] (approx. $9.2–9.3 billion), and the management board and supervisory board unanimously support the transaction^[3]. Shareholders holding around 48% of the capital have already pledged to vote “for”^[2], and the offer closing is planned for the second half of 2026, after obtaining regulatory approvals. Advent and Fed. Ex are expected to hold 37% each^[6], A&R Investments 16%, and PPF Group 10%. In. Post, which operates a network of about 61,000 parcel lockers^[5] across 9 countries, will keep its headquarters and main operations in Poland, but strategy decisions will be made by the international consortium.

Acquisition of InPost and Its Significance for Poland

Drewry Supply Chain Advisors recorded the fifth consecutive drop^[8] in the Drewry World Container Index – down to $1,933 per 40-foot container (-1% week on week, about -40% year on year). The greatest declines occurred on Asia–Europe and Asia–USA routes: the Shanghai–Rotterdam rate is about $2,127–2,164/FEU^[9], Shanghai–Genoa $2,965–3,048/FEU, Shanghai–Los Angeles $2,214–2,239/FEU, and Shanghai–New York $2,800–2,819/FEU, representing drops of 28–55% year over year^[10]. For Polish importers, this means real cost reductions, but for shipping companies—pressure on profitability, risk of further blank sailings, and possible delays in fleet decarbonization investments.

Falling Ocean Freight Rates and Bottlenecks

ITS Logistics’ February Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index indicated^[11] that January container imports to the USA amounted to 2,318,722 TEU^[12] (-6.8% year on year, yet above the average of the last six years). The share of East & Gulf Coast ports in imports rose to 40.8% from 39.3% in December, and imports from China increased by 9.3% month on month, though still about 22% below 2025 levels. Significant “bottlenecks” persist at rail terminals in Chicago, Cincinnati, and Memphis, exacerbated by winter weather, complicating multimodal corridor planning for exporters from Poland as well. In Asia, Kuehne+Nagel reports severe congestion at Chittagong port in Bangladesh^[15]—between January 31 and February 9, 104 hours of downtime were recorded, with vessels without their own cranes waiting 4–5 days at berth, and those with cranes waiting 2–3 days. This directly threatens textile and clothing deliveries to Europe.

Seasonal Disruptions in the USA and Bangladesh

In European passenger transport, February brings a series of disruptions. In France, three air traffic controller unions SNCTA, UNSA-ICNA, and USAC-CGT conducted a 48-hour strike on February 9–10, 2026^[16], which led to the cancellation of about 180 flights^[17] and average delays of about one hour at Paris-Orly and two hours in Marseille, despite the regulator DGAC’s decision to reduce operations to 50% and 30%, respectively. Airlines such as Air France^[28], British Airways, easy. Jet, Ryanair, and other carriers transiting French airspace felt the effects, and unions announce further protests, including a four-day ATC strike in October. Meanwhile, Spanish RENFE strikes from February 9 to 11, and Eurostar cancels services on Paris-Amsterdam, Amsterdam-Paris, and Cologne-Paris (terminating in Brussels) routes, impacting key continental rail corridors.

Wave of Strikes in European Passenger Transport

In Italy, the Ministry of Transport exercised extraordinary powers to postpone the nationwide airport strike^[19] from February 16 to February 26, 2026, to safeguard traffic during the Winter Milan–Cortina Games. This decision is estimated to save about 27,000 passengers from direct disruptions, alongside mandatory maintenance of some flights within so-called “fasce garantite” (guaranteed time slots). the nationwide airport strike was postponed from February 16 to February 26, 2026 However, the strike calendar confirms a 24-hour protest by FS Group railway employees^[22] (Trenitalia, Mercitalia Rail, and other companies) from 21:00 on February 27 to 20:59 on February 28. This could paralyze long-distance and regional passenger services and hinder intermodal freight handling during the peak tourist and sports season.

New Technologies and EU Policy Direction

Regarding technology, the Talking Logistics service highlights SecureBOL by Overhaul^[24], a tool for verifying bills of lading and detecting fraud, as well as a rail shipment tracking service at the VIN number level developed by TransmetriQ for the automotive sector. Although deployment scale data is not yet available, these solutions enhance digital oversight standards across supply chains. Concurrently, the European Commission announces the “Industrial Accelerator Act”^[25], which aims to introduce a public procurement requirement favoring products made in the EU with a low carbon footprint. The project, expected by late February 2026, could strongly influence tenders for rolling stock and transport infrastructure in Poland, rewarding “EU-made” producers and low-emission solutions.

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