Iran war: Metal Art braces for big increase in freight costs

Monday, 6 April 2026

Lower Hutt manufacturer of park benches, office planter walls and corporate furniture Metal Art is bracing for a big increase in fuel costs from freight companies.

Having three distinct product lines has allowed the company to navigate several economic downturns with little impact on overall production, owner Carl Longstaff said.

Suppliers were yet to increase prices, but a potential 30% hike in fuel levies would affect the business, he said. “That's going to hit pretty much everything. All of our inputs are carted into the factory, processed and out of the factory back to customers.

“Freight costs will have a huge impact on our onward pricing to our customers, because everything is plus freight,” he said.

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But amid all the uncertainty, Longstaff said the business had been able to maintain and even increase prices, helping to offset some input prices. “We are still trying to keep things as tight as we can.”

Inputs were a bit harder, because those were priced in a three to six-month period. “So we will have to suck up some of those costs.”

The near doubling of the price of diesel has changed the way the business operated its fleet of utes and trucks. “It has made us change thought processes about how often we get out to sites, whether we are coming out to check-measure customers’ numbers, or whether we just rely on the customer's numbers.”

The business has cut back on travel and was trying to focus on work in the Wellington region much more, he said. And staff were no longer using air conditioning in company vehicles and driving a bit more efficiently. Air conditioning could add 20% to 30% in running costs of a vehicle, he said. “Just open the window for a change.”

Longstaff said Metal Art had so far held off increasing prices. “If it's only a one or two-month blip, we'll be fine. Otherwise we will look at lifting prices.”

Last year was dire for the business as government departments reduced spending, particularly in Wellington.

Metal Art provided a lot of internal furniture for government clients, previously making up a third of business. That dropped to about 5% last year, but was beginning to recover this year, he said.

However, spending by councils had picked up following the local government elections, kicking off a new three-year spending cycle.

But the economic downturn had come at a cost to the workforce with five support staff being made redundant last year and the workshop had cut back to 40 hours a week, with no overtime.

In the last month or so orders had started to pick up again - “and then Trump goes and raids Iran”, Longstaff said.

“Our customers are at the moment probably in the same mindset as I am, waiting to see how things are going.”

Even when the war in Iran ended, it would take at least six months for business to return to normal regarding prices, he said.