Wholesalers are struggling to pass on the increase in their costs

Wholesale companies are beginning to feel the impact of rising costs. According to a flash survey conducted by the French Wholesalers Confederation (CGF) in partnership with Xerfi, more than three out of four companies surveyed recorded an increase in at least two of the four areas studied between February and July 2026: road freight transport, waste collection, packaging, and the price of goods.

One in five companies reports having experienced an increase across all of these positions.

Road transport recorded the strongest increase

Road freight transport costs increased by an average of 3,8% over the period studied. They outpaced the prices of goods, which rose by 2,7%, packaging costs, which increased by 2,1%, and waste collection fees, which rose by 1,8%.

Nearly 80% of the companies surveyed reported an increase in their road transport expenses. For 28% of them, this increase exceeded 5%.

Merchandise prices are also rising for nearly three-quarters of wholesalers. Approximately 60% report an increase of between 0 and 5%, while 14% report an increase of between 5 and 10%.

A minimal impact on private customers

The CGF (French Confederation of Wholesalers) is particularly concerned about the difficulties wholesalers are facing in passing on these additional costs to their selling prices. Among companies working with private clients, 38% report being unable to pass on any of the price increases. For half of the respondents, the pass-through rate remained below 10%.

On average, the companies surveyed were only able to pass on 9,1% of their cost increases to their private customers.

The agricultural and food products sector appears particularly exposed: 43% of the companies concerned report not having passed on any price increases to their private customers.

Public procurement is particularly affected.

Negotiation room is even more limited in public procurement. More than half of the wholesalers surveyed (54%) reported not receiving any price increases from their public sector clients. This proportion reaches 76% in the agricultural and food products sector.

Across the entire panel, only 6,5% of cost increases were passed on to public buyers.

For the CGF, these results highlight the need to better adapt public contracts to rapid changes in economic conditions. Contracts concluded several months earlier can become difficult to execute when the costs of fuel, transport, packaging, or goods suddenly increase.

The professional organization is requesting, in particular, that price variation clauses in contracts be activated when circumstances warrant it. It clarifies that the objective is not to automatically pass on all price increases to public buyers, but to prevent suppliers from bearing the brunt of external shocks alone.

“The figures are undeniable: our companies are experiencing cost increases that they can barely pass on. This situation is unsustainable in the long term. It is even less so in public procurement, where wholesalers must continue to honor their contracts even as their costs rise sharply. Price variation clauses must not be theoretical: they must allow contracts to adapt to economic realities and enable sufficiently responsive price adjustments. We cannot ask companies to absorb the consequences of an external shock over which they have no control on their own,” emphasizes Stéphane Antiglio, president of the CGF.

Half of the companies anticipate a decline in activity

This pressure comes at a time when the outlook for wholesale trade is already fragile. If the conflict in the Middle East were to continue throughout the year, 50% of the companies surveyed anticipate a decrease in their turnover in 2026.

Specifically, 35% anticipate a decline of between 1% and 4%, while 15% foresee a drop of more than 5%. Conversely, only 12% expect their business to grow, and 38% expect it to remain stable.

In this context, the CGF calls for avoiding the imposition of additional rigidities on businesses and for better integration of cost volatility into commercial relationships. The confederation reiterates that wholesalers ensure the daily supply of goods to shops, restaurants, businesses, healthcare facilities, local authorities, and public services.

According to her, the ability of these companies to postpone some of their additional costs determines both their economic resilience and the continuity of supplies.

* About the survey: The CGF/Xerfi flash survey was conducted with the same panel of companies as that used for the quarterly wholesale trade economic barometer published by the CGF. It measures the evolution, between February and July 2026, of the costs of road freight transport, waste collection, packaging and goods, as well as the ability of companies to pass these changes on to their private and public customers.