The latest ONS business survey data shows transport & storage firms are far less likely to raise prices this month than manufacturers or wholesalers & retailers, even though rising fuel, haulage and energy costs are hitting the sector just as hard. Margins in logistics are being squeezed rather than protected, warns Parcelhero. 

With the summer trading season in full swing, new Government survey data analysed by the international delivery experts Parcelhero shows a UK economy facing rising cost pressures. Transport & storage businesses, including couriers, hauliers and warehousing firms, are notably more restrained on passing on their costs than manufacturers and wholesalers & retailers, however. 

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Business Insights and Conditions survey, asked companies their price expectations for the goods or services they sell in August 2026. Parcelhero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., says the results show a clear difference in their approach to rising cost challenges between transport & storage sector firms and their partner manufacturing and retail businesses. 

Says David: ‘We have drilled into the transport & storage sector figures and set them side-by-side with the manufacturing and wholesale & retail sectors to see who is really passing costs on this summer.

‘Across the whole economy, 13.2% of trading businesses expect to raise their prices in August, with the clear majority, 59%, expecting to hold prices steady. But scratch beneath that national picture and a more nuanced sector story emerges:

• Manufacturing: 22.9% of companies expect to raise prices, 54.2% expect them to stay the same, 2.6% expect to cut them
• Wholesale & retail: 18.7% of companies expect to raise prices, 58.1% expect them to stay the same, 1.6% expect to cut them
• Transport & storage: 15.8% of companies expect to raise prices, 54.2% expect them to stay the same and the number planning to cut prices was too small to register
• All UK businesses: 13.2% expect to raise prices, 59% expect them to stay the same, 2% expect to cut them

‘Manufacturing comes out as the sector most likely of all to raise its prices this August – nearly one in four factories plan to do so, roughly 45% more likely than the average UK business. Wholesale & retail isn’t far behind. Transport & storage sits in the middle: firms in the sector are clearly under pressure, but proportionately fewer of them plan to pass costs on to customers in August than in manufacturing or wholesale/retail.

‘The same survey also asked businesses what, specifically, is pushing their prices up. Here the transport & storage sector’s story becomes clearer, and rather different from its manufacturing and retail partners.

• Raw material prices: cited by 41.3% of manufacturers, 33.3% of wholesalers/retailers, but just 6.3% of transport & storage firms
• Energy prices: cited by 27.3% of manufacturers, 26.9% of wholesalers/retailers, and 28.3% of transport & storage firms
• Transportation/haulage costs: cited by 26.9% of manufacturers, 24.7% of wholesalers/retailers, and 28.5% of transport & storage firms – the single biggest pressure named by the sector
• Labour costs: cited by 23.6% of manufacturers, 22.0% of wholesalers/retailers, but only 9.8% of transport & storage firms

‘For manufacturers, it’s raw materials doing the damage – over four in ten cite input costs as a factor pushing prices up, alongside labour. For transport & storage operators, unsurprisingly, it’s fuel, haulage and energy costs that dominate, with haulage/transportation costs (28.5%) and energy (28.3%) the two biggest named pressures – but notably, raw materials barely register (6.3%), which is exactly what you’d expect from a sector that moves goods rather than makes them.

‘Transport & storage sector businesses are facing exactly the cost pressures you’d expect – fuel, energy and haulage costs, not raw materials – and yet they’re proving more reluctant than manufacturers or retailers to pass those costs straight on to customers. That’s good news for any business shipping goods this summer, but it also means margins in the logistics sector are being squeezed rather than protected. Our concern is that something will eventually have to give, whether that’s pricing, capacity, or service levels.

‘For online retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers relying on couriers and freight partners to move goods, the data suggests courier and haulage pricing may hold relatively steady in the short term – but with almost 29% of transport and storage firms naming haulage costs as a pressure, and a similar share pointing to energy, further price rises later in the year cannot be ruled out.

‘Parcelhero’s advice to businesses shipping goods in August is to lock in rates and compare carriers now, while transport and storage pricing remains comparatively restrained relative to the wider economy.

‘One factor that may be helping the sector hold its nerve on pricing is technology. Parcelhero’s new report, “Putting the AI into supply chAIns,” reveals that AI adoption among UK transport & storage firms leapt from 16.1% to 27.1% in the first quarter of 2026 alone, with AI-driven route optimisation already delivering a 10% saving in logistics costs and a 15% improvement in on-time delivery rates. As more couriers, hauliers and warehouses put these efficiencies to work, the sector may be finding new ways to absorb rising fuel and energy costs without passing them straight on to customers. 

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Transport & Logistics Magazine – Driving The Industry Forward