Publication - Statistics
Business Insights and Conditions in Scotland (wave 161): 13 August 2026
Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) weighted Scotland data up to survey period 20 July to 2 August 2026 (Wave 161). 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 July 2026, 41.8% of businesses reported they had some form of concern about their supply chains over the next 12 months
- the top supply chain concern for businesses was international conflict (30.1%)
- an estimated 73.2% of businesses were very or somewhat concerned about energy prices, with this share rising to 80.4% for businesses in the Transport & Storage sector and 85.9% for businesses in the Accommodation & Food Services sector
- an estimated 70.6% of businesses were very or somewhat concerned about increases in fuel prices, with this share rising to 88.9% for businesses in the Construction sector and 92.6% for businesses in the Transport & Storage sector
- in the last 12 months, an estimated 19.4% of businesses had exported goods, services or both; and 29.2% of businesses had imported goods, services or both
- an estimated 9.9% of businesses were impacted by US tariffs in the last month, with this share rising to 23.9% for goods exporters
Note that the next BICS Scotland publication, with data to Wave 162, is scheduled for release on Thursday 27 August 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