Transport and storage businesses are proving more reluctant than manufacturers and retailers to increase prices this month, despite continuing pressure from fuel, energy and haulage costs, according to new research.
Analysis of the ONS Business Insights and Conditions Survey by delivery specialists Parcelhero found that 15.8% of transport and storage businesses expect to raise prices in August, compared with 22.9% of manufacturers and 18.7% of wholesale and retail businesses.
Across the economy as a whole, 13.2% of businesses said they planned to increase prices during the month, while 59% expected prices to remain unchanged.
The survey also highlights the different cost pressures facing the sectors. Among transport and storage businesses, 28.5% identified transportation and haulage costs as the biggest factor driving prices higher, closely followed by energy costs (28.3%).
By contrast, manufacturers were far more likely to cite raw material costs (41.3%) as their main concern.
David Jinks, Parcelhero head of consumer research, said the figures suggested logistics operators were absorbing rising costs rather than passing them on to customers.
“Transport and storage sector businesses are facing exactly the cost pressures you’d expect – fuel, haulage and energy costs, not raw materials -and yet they’re proving more reluctant than manufacturers or retailers to pass those costs straight on to customers,” he said.
“That’s good news for businesses shipping goods this summer, but it also means margins in the logistics sector are being squeezed rather than protected.”
According to the survey, 54.2% of transport and storage businesses expect prices to remain unchanged during August, while too few respondents anticipated price reductions for the ONS to publish a figure.
Jinks warned that, although haulage pricing appears relatively stable for now, continued cost inflation could result in further increases later in the year, if operators are unable to absorb higher operating costs indefinitely.
However, on a brighter note, Jinks said increasing use of artificial intelligence could help some operators offset higher costs.
He pointed to a recent report by Parcelhero, “Putting the AI into supply chAIns,” which reveals that AI adoption among UK transport & storage firms leapt from 16.1% to 27.1% in Q1 2026, with AI-driven route optimisation already delivering a 10% saving in logistics costs and a 15% improvement in on-time delivery rates.
Jinks added: “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.”
