Publication - Statistics
Business Insights and Conditions in Scotland (wave 165): 9 October 2026
Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) weighted Scotland data up to survey period 21 September to 4 October 2026 (Wave 165). 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 September 2026, 45.6% 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 (31.6%), followed by shipping disruption (22.3%)
- an estimated 78.5% of businesses were very or somewhat concerned about energy prices, with this share rising to as high as 88.4% for businesses in the Transport & Storage sector
- an estimated 50.3% of businesses were very or somewhat concerned about the impact of climate change on their business, an increase on the share reported in June 2026 (44.9%)
- an estimated 36.9% of businesses were using some form of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, with the Information & Communication sector having the highest share (75.5%)
- an estimated 10.8% of businesses were impacted by US tariffs in the last month, with this share rising to 31.5% for goods exporters
Note that the next BICS Scotland publication, with data to Wave 166, is scheduled for release on Thursday 29 October 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