Lahti's logistics story is usually told as loss followed by recovery: eastbound freight stopped, rail yards found new uses, and warehouses filled with domestic distribution. Company reports support part of that account. The specific figures usually cited need checking before they inform a decision.
What the Operator's Own Accounts Show
Nurminen Logistics is a listed rail and forwarding group, and its parent company is domiciled in Helsinki. Its 2024 financial statements make railway its main focus: railway net sales rose to €34.1 million in 2024 from €26.8 million in 2023, and railway now accounts for a third of group net sales.
Group net sales fell 18.1 per cent to €104.8 million in 2024. The company attributes the fall to geopolitical challenges in the Baltic countries, where net sales dropped from €74.8 million to €46.8 million, and to a slight decline in Cargo and Multimodal demand. Cargo sales were €17.4 million, down from €19.2 million.
Group personnel stood at 178 at the end of 2024, against 186 a year earlier. One company's accounts do not settle a sector-wide question, but they set a test: any claim that Lahti's rail-linked logistics collapsed should show up in operators' own disclosures.
The Pay Gap Is an Open Question
One form of the cost argument says that the pay gap between Lahti and Helsinki for mid-level logistics managers narrowed from 18 per cent in 2020 to 11 per cent in 2024. Figures of that kind are attributed to Statistics Finland's structure-of-earnings statistics.
Open question: Did the Lahti–Helsinki gap for mid-level logistics managers narrow from 18 to 11 per cent? The figure has been cited, but it has not been confirmed against the regional tables. Statistics Finland publishes earnings by region and occupation, so the test is to pull the Päijät-Häme and Uusimaa rows for the exact occupation and year before any percentage enters a budget or a candidate offer.
Role-level salary guides follow the same rule. They are useful for framing a range, not for setting one. Compare like with like: the same seniority, the same contract type and the same shift pattern in both cities.
Where the Cost Case Is Weakest
In our view, a cost case is easiest to test where roles are common and collectively agreed, because the benchmarks are public and the gap can be read directly. It is hardest to test for senior and specialist roles, where the pool is small and candidates compare the offer on scope, career route and location rather than on rent.
That is our judgement rather than a published finding. It is the reason the cost test should be run by role level, not as a single sector-wide figure.
Talent Pools in a Small Market
In our view, three kinds of role recur in Lahti's logistics hiring. The pools differ, and so does the quality of the evidence behind each.
HGV drivers
Vacancy duration and the age profile of the regional workforce decide whether a driver shortage is structural or cyclical.
Open question: What does the current SKAL survey show for Päijät-Häme, and do regional vacancy statistics from Finland's public employment services show the same trend?
Warehouse automation engineers
In our view, automation roles form one of the most concentrated pools in a regional market. The people who run robotic fulfilment systems are few, and one competing hire is visible to the rest of the market. The number that matters most here is the one you measure yourself: how many qualified candidates answer a direct approach, and how long a hire takes to close.
Intermodal rail planners
This is the hardest profile to source, because it combines two skill sets that rarely sit together: rail freight operations and digital logistics platforms. In our view, the structural point does not depend on a single case. A search for this profile should assume a small pool, a direct approach, and a mandate that states the rail and platform requirements separately.
Infrastructure and Space: Figures to Pull Before Planning
Rail capacity, industrial land and warehouse vacancy decide how far the local labour pool can be used. Three questions matter for any planning decision, and each has a primary source to check:
- Rail capacity: What is the utilisation of the Kerava–Lahti line in the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency's current network statement, and how are freight slots allocated against passenger traffic at peak times?
- Industrial land: How much logistics-zoned land remains in the Kujala area, and what is in the city's planning pipeline?
- Warehouse vacancy: What is the latest published vacancy rate for Päijät-Häme, for which building class and for which date?
Forecasts once attributed to LADEC should now be sought from Business Lahti. LADEC and Visit Lahti were merged on 1 July 2026 into a new growth company, Business Lahti.
Where Lahti Competes
Lahti is about 104 kilometres by road from Helsinki, roughly an hour and a quarter by car on the E75, and about an hour by train. In our view, Helsinki's pull is partly structural. Wärtsilä's head office is in Helsinki, UPM is headquartered in Helsinki and Kone in Espoo, all in the Helsinki region. A senior supply-chain executive there has a route into international roles that a Lahti-based role may not offer.
In our view, that difference in career route matters more to senior candidates than rent does. It is a judgement, and it is a difference a Lahti employer can test directly with candidates.
Remote freight-coordination work also competes across borders, and Tallinn is one place it can be done. Estonia applies a flat 22 per cent personal income tax. Whether that draws Finnish-speaking planners away from Lahti is not documented, so it is a question to monitor rather than a finding.
What Hiring Leaders Should Do
Start with the cost question and answer it role by role. Pull the official pay series for both cities at the seniority you are hiring. Compare the gap at that level only, because a sector-wide average hides the roles that drive the decision. Then decide whether the case for Lahti rests on pay, on role design, or on the employer's own development path.
In our view, role design is the lever Helsinki cannot copy easily. A logistics manager in Lahti may own a whole facility, where a counterpart in a larger Helsinki operation may own one function. That difference in scope can be written into the mandate, and whether it wins candidates is a question to test in the market.
In our view, the search method follows from the pool. Where the pool is small and most of it is employed, a job posting reaches only a fraction of it. Plan for direct identification and approach, and measure response rates from your own outreach rather than from a published passive-candidate share.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is Lahti from Helsinki?
About 104 kilometres by road on the E75, roughly an hour and a quarter by car. Trains take about an hour.
Has Lahti's logistics sector shrunk since 2022?
The group accounts of a listed rail and forwarding company based in Helsinki are not Lahti-specific, so they cannot answer the question for the region. They show group net sales down 18.1 per cent in 2024, mainly in the Baltic business, while railway net sales rose from €26.8 million in 2023 to €34.1 million in 2024. Sector-wide employment and vacancy data for Päijät-Häme remain an open question.
Is the Lahti–Helsinki pay gap narrowing?
This is an open question here. A narrowing from 18 per cent in 2020 to 11 per cent in 2024 has been cited, but it has not been confirmed against Statistics Finland's regional tables. Check the Päijät-Häme and Uusimaa rows for the exact occupation before relying on it.
Which logistics roles are hardest to fill in Lahti?
In our assessment, intermodal rail planners and warehouse automation specialists are the hardest to source, because their pools are the narrowest. HGV driver vacancy data should be checked against the current SKAL survey before it shapes a plan.
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