Here are some of the most notable international city logistics items from recent weeks and months:
- UPS restructures its UK last mile. UPS wants to reduce its UK workforce by transferring last-mile delivery to outside couriers, which would significantly change the labor landscape for legacy parcel carriers; arguably the clearest sign yet that the integrator model is fracturing under last-mile cost pressure.
- USPS opens its last-mile network to the market. The US Postal Service opened a bidding platform where retailers and logistics providers of all sizes can reserve last-mile delivery capacity, part of Postmaster General Steiner’s revenue strategy, alongside a new $10 billion delivery contract with DHL eCommerce. The most expensive part of the chain is being commodified.
- Amazon passes 100 million micromobility deliveries in Europe. Amazon announced 100 million European deliveries completed by electric cargo bikes, e-mopeds, and pushcarts from more than 70 micromobility hubs across 50+ cities, with 25 additional hubs planned throughout 2026. Cargo bike logistics is now core to network architecture, not CSR decoration — underscored by Amazon’s cargo bike rollout in Washington, DC, as part of a broader micromobility policy. Also, Amazon’s millionth customer delivery in Belgium using electric cargo bikes as part of their goal to reach net-zero carbon by 2040
- Honda enters last-mile hardware. Honda plans to start small-scale production this year of an all-electric quadricycle, the FastPort eQuad, for last-mile delivery in North America and Europe — a major OEM validating the “between bike and van” vehicle category.
- The sidewalk robot backlash arrives. Delivery robots are proliferating across the US, UK, Japan, South Korea and Germany, and cities are pushing back: Glendale council members cite accessibility concerns, regulatory uncertainty (“no-one asked us for permission to use the sidewalks”), and impacts on workers, and are demanding operating rules, insurance requirements, accessibility standards and permitting fees. The regulatory picture remains a patchwork: over 20 US states legally classify delivery robots as “pedestrians,” while Toronto’s sidewalk ban remains largely in effect due to accessibility objections. Classic curb-space politics, now with robots.
- Drone delivery scales geographically. Wing and Walmart have named seven new markets for their drone delivery service, and in the UK the CAA has launched six BVLOS and medical delivery trial projects, with government plans projecting that drone deliveries will become commonplace by 2027.
- London drafts a new Logistics Plan. The Mayor’s 2026 Logistics Plan progress update shows freight vehicles entering the Congestion Charge Zone down 20% below 2016 levels — exceeding the MTS target — but flags rising van kilometers, insufficient loading space, and drivers losing an average of 156 hours a year to congestion. Notably, London benchmarked itself against New York, Paris and Amsterdam in drafting the plan.
- The robotization of delivery labor becomes explicit. JD.com founder Richard Liu says robots will eventually replace the company’s 700,000 delivery workers, according to a Financial Times report — the bluntest statement yet of where platform logistics economics point, and directly relevant to the gig-work regulation debate.
Walther Ploos van Amstel.