5 January, 2026

Year of Progress for Shipping Group

Posted on 5 January, 20265 January, 2026 by David Priestman

One of Scotland’s leading shipping and logistics firms, Streamline Shipping Group, reflects on a landmark year shaped by high-profile event partnerships, major steps forward in sustainable logistics, and a deepening commitment to communities across the Highlands and Islands.

For the Streamline Shipping team, the busiest month of the year came in July, as the team supported one of the most memorable weeks in Aberdeen’s history as the Regent and Blaikies Quay Sponsor at the Tall Ships Races 2025. The event was a huge success for all involved, turning the Port of Aberdeen’s North Harbour into a four-day festival with around 50 tall ships, live music, street food and an estimated 400,000 visitors.

A few days later, the team was back in the thick of it, as the Official Logistics Partner for the Orkney Island Games, the largest event ever held on the islands. Marking the 40th anniversary of the International Island Games, the celebration welcomed athletes from 24 island communities around the world.

Will Rodger, Service Manager at Streamline, said: “Being involved in two huge events so close together was a real highlight for us. The Tall Ships brought an incredible atmosphere to Aberdeen, and the Island Games meant so much to everyone in Orkney. Seeing our teams step up for both occasions, often working quietly in the background to keep everything moving, made me really proud.”

However, away from the crowds and celebrations, another side of the business was gathering pace as Streamline worked closely with UK-based autonomous aviation company, Windracers, who design, manufacture and operate heavy-lift, long-range cargo drones. Over nine weeks, the two teams completed one of the most ambitious autonomous delivery trials in the UK, where Drones flew more than 2,000 km between Orkney’s islands to transport medical samples, water tests, shellfish and other everyday parcels, handling up to 90 percent of last-mile deliveries.

Due to the success of the trial, Streamline has now been named a partner in the next phase of Innovate UK’s Sustainable Aviation Test Environment, which will explore the potential for a drone network linking Orkney, Shetland and other remote regions.

Rodger shared: “What we achieved with the drone trials genuinely felt like the future arriving. When you see a parcel taking off from one island and landing on another, completely autonomously, and doing it safely, consistently and with no environmental disruption, it changes what you believe is possible for technology as well as remote, sustainable logistics.”

Elsewhere, Streamline continued to deepen its support for local communities throughout 2025. In Orkney, the business provided free transport of building materials and specialist furnishings for The Peedie Retreat, a fully accessible seaside sanctuary for individuals affected by cancer, MS and MND. The team also assisted NHS partners across Scotland, including delivering a palliative cuddle bed to Gilbert Bain Hospital in Shetland and supporting the installation of a Breathing Space mental health bench at FDAMH.
Internationally, Streamline partnered with Rendall FC and University of Glasgow researchers to transport donated football kits from Orkney to Malawi, supporting rural health outreach programmes through community sport.

“Community work is not something we do on the side, it is part of who we are,” said Rodger. “From local charities to NHS partners to families who need a hand, our approach is always the same. We treat every request with care, respect and the determination to make a difference.”

Now, as the company moves into 2026, the team will be pushing forward with plans to expand its drone logistics, deepen its UK and island networks, and invest further in low-carbon transport solutions, ensuring the business remains resilient, reliable and ready for the challenges ahead.

PODCAST: Revolutionising Logistics with Reusable Packaging

Posted on 5 January, 20265 January, 2026 by Will Priestman

In the latest episode of Logistics Business Conversations, host Peter MacLeod sits down with Jason Li, the General Manager of Europe for ALSCO, to delve into the evolving landscape of logistics packaging. The episode centers around ALSCO’s pioneering efforts in promoting sustainable logistics through their innovative reusable packaging solutions. As businesses worldwide strive to reduce their carbon footprint, ALSCO’s shared leasing and pooling service emerges as a game-changer, offering standardized and recyclable packaging options that significantly cut down on waste and emissions.

Jason shares insights into ALSCO’s core business model, which focuses on the lifecycle management of reusable packaging, from design and production to recycling and reuse. This approach not only reduces capital investment for customers but also enhances supply chain efficiency and sustainability. The conversation highlights ALSCO’s strategic focus on key European markets, including automotive, new energy vehicles, chemicals, and retail, where the demand for durable and traceable packaging is paramount.

The episode also explores the role of digitalization in logistics, with ALSCO’s “Find Me” data platform enabling real-time tracking of assets, thereby improving pooling efficiency and reducing loss rates. Jason discusses the integration of IoT and RFID technologies in ALSCO’s packaging solutions, providing customers with advanced monitoring capabilities and supporting efficient warehousing management.

As the logistics industry faces increasing regulatory pressures, ALSCO’s commitment to sustainability and innovation positions them as a leader in the transition towards a circular economy. The episode concludes with a forward-looking discussion on the future of logistics packaging, emphasizing the growing importance of reusable solutions in achieving net-zero goals and driving industry-wide transformation.

Freight Predictions for 2026

Posted on 5 January, 20265 January, 2026 by David Priestman

SMBs cannot afford ‘blind’ shipping anymore, says Carmit Glik (pictured) of Ship4wd, setting out her forecasts for cargo this year.

As 2026 gets underway, global freight is entering a phase defined less by recovery and more by permanent volatility. What was once viewed as a series of temporary disruptions has evolved into a structurally unstable operating environment. Geopolitical instability, shifting trade routes, and the long tail of tariff uncertainty are continuing to reshape how goods move around the world, forcing businesses to rethink long-established assumptions about cost, reliability, and planning.

One of the most visible changes is the acceleration of cargo diversification away from China toward Southeast Asia, Africa, Central and South America, as companies seek to reduce dependency on any single geography. This redistribution is altering traditional trade lanes and creating new capacity and infrastructure challenges. At the same time, ongoing disruptions in key corridors, such as the Red Sea, highlight how exposed global shipping remains to geopolitical flashpoints. Even as routes reopen or stabilize, these remain a structural risk rather than a short-term anomaly, with ripple effects on transit times, capacity availability, and freight rates.

This environment makes long-term planning increasingly difficult, especially for small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), raising the cost of both mistakes and delays. Unlike large enterprises, SMBs lack the financial buffers and scale needed to absorb sudden cost increases or operational disruptions. A single delay, miscalculation, or unexpected fee can cascade into missed customer commitments, lost sales, or reputational damage. As a result, the cost of uncertainty has risen sharply, making predictability just as valuable as price.

In response, SMBs, and businesses more generally, are fundamentally changing how they approach freight planning and execution. Visibility, cost transparency, and speed of decision-making are no longer ‘nice to have’ but are operational requirements. Smaller shippers are moving away from reactive logistics models toward partners and platforms that provide real-time milestones, predictable end-to-end pricing, allow businesses to anticipate issues, adjust routes or timelines, and make informed trade-offs between speed, cost, and reliability.

At the same time, logistics providers themselves are evolving. In 2026, freight forwarding will no longer be limited to moving cargo from point A to point B. We see a trend in more providers expanding their offerings to include integrated services such as flexible payment terms, financing options, and Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) models. These services help companies manage cash flow, simplify supplier relationships and reduce risk, factors that are especially critical in volatile markets and an increasingly uncertain world.
Technology is a key enabler of this transformation. As platforms, APIs, and data-driven tools become accessible to both large enterprises and SMBs alike, participation in cross-border commerce is no longer the differentiator it once was. Instead, in 2026, competitive advantage will come more from how effectively companies use data to move faster, plan more accurately, and respond in real time to change across an increasingly volatile freight landscape.

Looking ahead, competitiveness in freight will be defined less by scale and more by intelligence and adaptability. Companies that succeed in 2026 will be those that treat logistics as an integrated part of their business strategy, prioritize transparency over guesswork, and partner with providers that can deliver both flexibility and reliability. In an increasingly uncertain world, the ability to move goods predictably and intelligently may prove to be one of the most important advantages a business can have.

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