Menzies Distribution said it has not undertaken any carriage charge review at present, hinting at the possibility of the charges to remain unchanged for the time being.
In a communication to the NFRN, the news wholesaler, however, declined to commit to an actual date for the review.
Menzies normally announces any changes to its carriage charge template in mid February, for commencement at the start of April. With the company yet to carry out the review, carriage charge is set to stay the same until further notice.
The development follows announcements from Smiths News and News UK regarding delays to their carriage charge reviews.
“We appreciate that this is a hard decision for Menzies to take, but it is a good decision as it follows the same pattern as the other news wholesalers,” commented Stuart Reddish, NFRN national president. “We will continue to keep the dialogue going with Menzies and take every opportunity to encourage a long term freeze as a minimum.”
Last week Smiths News announced that it was suspending its annual carriage charge review until 2022 and News UK’s Direct to Retail operation advised that it was further deferring its review until May 2021.
