Transport & storage firms are more optimistic about March prospects than any comparable sector

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Business Insights figures reveal far fewer transport & storage sector companies expect their profits to fall in March than any comparable sector, including retail and manufacturing.

Even more encouragingly, a healthy number expect turnover to actually rise.

In a survey held between 3-16 February, just 9.7% of transport & storage companies (the category which includes logistics, parcels, haulage and warehousing firms) said they expect a drop in revenue.

That compares to 18.3% of retailers and 18.1% of manufacturers who expect their turnover to decrease.

Better still, 24.2% of transport & storage firms also said they expect their turnover to actually increase.

The sector has grown in confidence recently, says the home delivery expert Parcelhero.

Parcelhero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, says: ‘After recent gloomy economic news, it’s encouraging to see transport & storage companies are upbeat about the month ahead.

‘It’s heartening that, compared to allied sectors, fewer companies expect a drop in revenues and over 24% of transport & storage firms believe their turnover will increase.

‘Overall, the transport & storage sector’s outlook has brightened considerably in recent months. These latest results show a big rise in confidence over the sector’s December 2024 survey responses. When asked to reveal their predictions for January 2025, a whopping 28.8% of transport & storage companies had expected their revenues to fall during January and just 3.4% expected them to rise.

‘Year-on-year, the picture is more mixed but still on the up. When asked back in February 2024 what they thought their prospects were for March 2024, 14.5% thought their turnover would increase, a less optimistic prediction than this latest figure of 24.2%. However, only 6.1% predicted a fall in revenue for March 2024 which, when compared to 9.7% in these latest responses, indicates growing caution.

‘It’s not only when compared to their manufacturing and retail partners that Britain’s transport & storage sector firms seem more positive. Viewed against the entire spectrum of UK business sectors, transport & storage companies’ positive outlook for next month is ahead of the curve. Overall, 22% of businesses across all industries report that they expect their turnover to increase in March 2025 and 13% report that they expect their turnover to decrease. As you can see, an anticipated increase of 24.2% and a decrease of 9.7% mean that both sets of figures from the transport & storage sector are more optimistic than the average for all business sectors.

‘Transport & storage companies’ brightening outlook follows solid, if not earth-shattering, financial results for January 2025. 13.3% of companies in the sector reported increased turnover over December 2024, 49.3% reported turnover had held steady and 25.4% experienced decreased turnover. To put that into context, a hefty 39.6% of manufacturers and 36.6% of retailers reported a decrease in turnover in January 2025 over December 2024, although these are also not terrible results considering the busy December peak is usually followed by a fall.

‘One certainty is that it will be those transport & storage companies that are partnered with retailers with strong in-store and online sales that will ultimately triumph.’