Transport firms hold firm on August prices – but manufacturers and stores plan to raise theirs

Aug. 4, 2026 - PRLog -- 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..

'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. The full report is available at https://www.parcelhero.com/en-gb/resources/ebooks/putting-the-ai-into-supply-chains-industry-report