Fewer UK transport & storage firms use homeworking than any other sector

Mar 07, 2026 Warehousing Ireland e-commerce, Logistics, Materials Handling, shipping, Storage, Warehousing Comments Off on Fewer UK transport & storage firms use homeworking than any other sector

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The number of transport & storage sector companies using, or planning to use, increased homeworking has fallen to 4.4%, reveals the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Business Insights Survey. That is the lowest amount of all UK business sectors.

The home delivery expert Parcelhero says fewer transport & storage companies (the category which includes logistics, parcels, haulage and warehousing employers) are using increased homeworking as a permanent part of their business model going forward than any other sector.

Parcelhero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., says: ‘Willingness to accept increased homeworking has plummeted in recent months in the transport & storage sector. When last surveyed, in November 2025, 14.6% of transport & storage firms still embraced increased homeworking. By February 2026, when this latest survey was held, this had fallen by around 10 percentage points.

‘Not only was this latest result the lowest adoption of working from home of any sector, but it puts transport & storage firms at odds with allied sectors on this issue. In all, 16.2% of manufacturers and 14.9% of retailers continue to welcome increased homeworking. Even the accommodation and food service sector, the category that includes restaurants, pubs and hotels, continues to accept more homeworking (5.8%).

‘In stark contrast to the transport & storage sector, 40.6% of information and communication companies are using, or plan to use, increased homeworking going forward.

‘Could this reluctance on the part of transport & storage sector firms to continue with hybrid working practices be impacting their results? There is some evidence that this could be the case. While only 6.6% of transport & storage firms said they were experiencing a shortage of workers (compared, for example, to 10.5% of manufacturers and 8% of retailers), shortages of skilled workers are impacting specific areas.

‘A total of 1.7% of transport & storage sector firms said they have had to pause trading entirely because of a worker shortage (as opposed to 0% of manufacturers) and 1.8% have had to pause some aspects of their business. 2.5% have had to recruit temporary workers to cover the shortage and a high 8.6% of transport & storage firms reported being unable to meet demands because of their worker shortage. Again, fewer manufacturer or retailers experienced this problem.

‘When asked the reason why their business was not intending to adopt increased homeworking going forward, 83.1% of transport & storage firms said it was not suitable for their company. Interestingly, that was a slightly smaller response than manufacturing (86.9%) and retailing (87%). Instead, difficulties managing staff remotely was the next most common reason given for rejecting homeworking by transport & storage firms, followed by a negative impact on working culture and concerns about integrating new staff into the workplace.

‘If more transport & storage sector companies continued to abandon hybrid working, the concern is that there could be a sector-wide skills shortage. Looking particularly at administration roles, this means that experienced managers, customer service and IT staff will turn to other industries that offer more flexible practices.

‘Working from home is just one of the transformations that technology is enabling across the logistics and wider retail sector. The e-commerce revolution is transforming both home deliveries and the High Street. Parcelhero’s influential report “2030: Death of the High Street” has been discussed in Parliament. It reveals that retailers must develop an omnichannel approach, embracing both online and physical store sales.

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