The third quarter of 2025 highlights a moderately evolving cost landscape for the food & beverage and modern retail supply chains. According to Istat data, producer prices for B2B services increased by 0,4% quarter-on-quarter and 2,0% year-on-year, confirming a slower pace compared to the previous quarter. This trend directly affects food industries, fresh produce logistics companies, retailers, and out-of-home operators, who are increasingly exposed to the volatility of supply chain services.
Logistics remains a critical factor: transportation and warehousing services declined 0,3% quarter-over-quarter, driven by declines in other transportation support activities (-2,7%) and postal and courier services (-0,6%). This is a positive sign for consumer goods companies facing a stable demand environment, but it is accompanied by volatility in air freight (+5,0%), a component often used for imports of strategic raw materials and for premium retail.
At the same time, professional, scientific, and technical services grew by 0,4% quarter-over-quarter and 3,4% year-over-year, maintaining significant pressure on consulting, certification, R&D, and regulatory costs—crucial areas for food brands engaged in reformulations, nutritional claims, and ESG strategies.
Similar increases (+0,4%) also occurred in rentals, business services, and travel agencies, with sharply slowing annual growth (+2,7% versus +5,2% in the previous quarter). For retailers and manufacturers, these services are particularly impacted by promotions, in-store activities, seasonality, and peak management.
On the industrial front, October showed mixed signals: industrial producer prices fell 0,2% month-over-month and remained almost stable on an annual basis (+0,1%). The energy component explains much of the trend: electricity and gas prices fell again (-1,0% year-over-year), offering partial relief to food processors, distribution platforms, and refrigeration companies.
However, prices of food, beverage, and tobacco exported to the euro area remain high (+4,2%) as do the costs of semi-finished metal products (+1,8% on the domestic market), with direct impacts on production lines, packaging, equipment, and plants. Transport is recovering on foreign markets (+5,0%), particularly for vehicles and equipment used along the fresh produce chain.
In construction – a key infrastructure for large-scale retail logistics – prices for industrial buildings and structures recorded a slight monthly decline (-0,2%) but remained up on a trend basis (+1,6%), confirming the continued high costs for new hubs, warehouses, distribution centers, and high-tech store formats.
Overall, the data points to a pattern of selective pressures: relief from energy and logistics, but persistent increases in specialized services and strategic industrial costs. For food & beverage and retail, this mix signals a transitional quarter in which margin management will depend on operational efficiency, negotiation along the supply chain, and control of costs not directly related to energy.
