One in three transport and storage companies is teetering on the brink of financial crisis, according to recent survey
July 2025 - Transport & Infrastructure
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One in three transport and storage companies is teetering on the brink of financial crisis, according to recent survey: One in three transportation and storage companies lack cash reserves or any measures to handle financial crises, and even fewer claim to have more than six months of reserves, according to a recent study.
Wave 135 of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) fortnightly Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) surveyed over 10,000 British businesses between 16th and 29th June 2025 on various topics, including their business operations. Respondents reported on their cash reserves, insolvency risk, and ability to meet current debt obligations. The findings – analysed by Parcelhero, a home delivery specialist – show that the UK transportation and storage sector – which includes logistics, haulage, warehousing, and parcel delivery firms - is currently the least financially resilient sector overall.
Just over 3 in 10 (31%) businesses (that described themselves as currently trading) in this sector reported having no cash reserves, compared to only one-eighth (12.6%) of their manufacturing partners. Additionally, fewer than 2 in 10 (16.4%) transportation and storage firms said they have more than six months’ worth of reserves, which is significantly lower than their manufacturing and retail partners (which are also currently trading), with 27.9% and 27.1%, respectively. According to the survey, only the construction sector reported worse results, with just over one in 10 (11.7%) firms indicating they had more than six months of reserves.
Despite these concerning statistics, Parcelhero believes that there has been some improvement in the finances of the transportation and storage sector over the past six months. In December 2024, nearly 4 in 10 (36.8%) of firms (that described themselves as currently trading) had no cash reserves, 5.8% more than in June 2025.
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