Transport costs squeeze Delta, Rivers traders as customers cut spending

By Diden Abigail Owuntarose

Rising transportation and operating costs are putting increasing pressure on small businesses and household budgets in Otefe-Oghara, Delta State, and Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with traders and consumers reporting reduced purchasing power and shrinking profit margins.

For small business owners who depend on supplies from major commercial centres outside their immediate communities, transportation has become a significant component of the cost of doing business.

In Otefe-Oghara, traders who source goods from major markets such as Onitsha in Anambra State say the cost of travelling to purchase merchandise and transporting it back to Delta State has added considerably to their expenses.

A trader identified as Chima said sourcing goods from Onitsha and moving them to his warehouse in Delta State had become increasingly difficult because of transportation costs.

He said the financial burden begins after the goods have been purchased, as moving the merchandise from Onitsha to Otefe-Oghara requires additional spending.

According to him, the challenge extends beyond sourcing products to the cost and stress associated with transporting them over the long distance.

The situation is similar for Bobo, a clothing trader who regularly travels to Onitsha to source merchandise.

Bobo said he could not rely entirely on waybilling because he prefers to personally select clothes based on their quality and appearance.

As a result, he travels from Otefe-Oghara to Onitsha to select and purchase the clothes before arranging transportation back to Delta State.

He said the increasing cost of transportation has become an additional financial burden on his business, making the process of restocking more expensive.

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For traders such as Chima and Bobo, transportation remains an unavoidable business expense because their operations depend on supplies sourced from outside their locality.

Port Harcourt traders face similar pressure

The pressure is also being felt by small businesses in Port Harcourt, where traders say higher transportation and operating expenses are making it increasingly difficult to maintain existing prices

Princewill, a trader who uses motorcycles and small vans to deliver goods, said rising transportation costs have affected his profit margins.

He said increasing prices to fully reflect higher transportation expenses could discourage customers, leaving him with the difficult choice of absorbing part of the additional cost.

“If the entire increase is passed to customers, we may lose buyers,” he said, explaining that traders are often forced to bear part of the additional expenses to retain their customer base.

Consumers cut back

The rising costs are also changing consumer behaviour.

Praise, a customer in Otefe-Oghara, said he now purchases smaller quantities of goods from wholesalers because of rising prices.

Rather than buying the quantities he previously purchased, he said he has had to reduce his purchases to keep his spending within the limits of his available income.

Another customer, Grace, said the rising cost of goods has forced her to prioritise food and other essential needs when allocating her income.

She said spending on food now takes precedence over several other household needs, leaving less money available for non-essential purchases.

A similar situation was reported in Port Harcourt, where Ijeoma, who operates a small food business, said household expenses had consumed much of the income generated from her business.

Her experience highlights the difficulty faced by small-scale entrepreneurs who depend on modest daily earnings to support both their businesses and households.

The experiences of the traders and consumers illustrate how higher transportation costs can spread through the local economy.

When traders spend more on travelling to source goods and moving merchandise to their businesses, those costs become part of their overall operating expenses. Some businesses may respond by increasing prices, while others absorb part of the increase to avoid losing customers.

For consumers, higher prices can result in reduced purchasing volumes as households attempt to stretch available income.

The situation creates a difficult balance for small businesses: increasing prices may protect profit margins but risk reducing sales, while maintaining existing prices can leave traders with smaller profits.