Publication - Statistics
Business Insights and Conditions in Scotland (wave 155): 14 May 2026
Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) weighted Scotland data up to survey period 20 April to 3 May 2026 (Wave 155). The BICS provides statistics on how current conditions are affecting businesses in Scotland, including impact on financial performance, workforce, trade and resilience.
Key points for businesses with 10+ employees and a presence in Scotland:
- in April 2026, 57.9% of businesses reported they had some form of concern about their supply chains over the next 12 months; up from 52.0% in March 2026
- the top supply chain concern for businesses was international conflict (47.2%), followed by shipping disruption (25.1%)
- in the last 12 months, an estimated 19.9% of businesses had exported goods, services or both; and 34.3% of businesses had imported goods, services or both
- for an estimated 51.6% of exporters the cost of exporting increased in the year to March 2026; up from 34.8% in the year to December 2025
- for an estimated 36.6% of importers the cost of importing increased in the year to March 2026; up from 28.1% in the year to December 2025
- an estimated 12.5% of businesses were impacted by US tariffs in the last month, with this share rising to 28.3% for goods exporters
Note that the next BICS Scotland publication, with data to Wave 156, is scheduled for release on Thursday 28 May 2026.
Contact
For enquiries about this publication please contact:
Marina Curran
Business & Innovation Statistics
Office of the Chief Economic Adviser
email: industrystatistics@gov.scot
For general enquiries about Scottish Government statistics please contact:
Office of the Chief Statistician
email: statistics.enquiries@gov.scot