BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 101

Exporting and Importing Challenges

The BICS asks businesses that are currently trading about how current conditions, including the end of the EU transition period, have impacted on their exporting and importing – the specific questions asked are shown below.

Question: How did your business's exporting compare with this calendar month last year?

• exported/imported more
• exporting/importing stayed the same
• exported/imported less
• business was unable to export / import
• not sure

Figure 3: Of businesses currently trading that have exported in the last 12 months, 19.2% reported exporting less in December 2023 compared to December 2022, and 14.2% reported exporting more. An estimated 13.5% of applicable businesses have imported less in December 2023 compared to December 2022, and 10.5% have imported more.

Estimated share of businesses by exporting / importing change in December 2023 compared to December 2022. Businesses currently trading and exported / imported in last 12 months, with 10+ employees and a presence in Scotland. Wave 101.

Source: BICS Weighted Scotland Estimates - Wave 101 from the Scottish Government.  For Figure 3 data see tables ‘ExportingChangeOverYear’ and ‘ImportingChangeOverYear’.

Currently trading businesses that have exported or imported in the last 12 months, and reported on how exporting compared to the previous year, were asked if they had experienced an increase in exporting/importing challenges over the last month.

Figure 4: The challenge that was most commonly reported to have increased in December 2023 was change in transportation costs – this was the case for both exporting and importing. However, an estimated 62.7% of exporters and 69.0% of importers reported that they did not experience an increase in exporting/importing challenges in December 2023 compared with November 2023.

Estimated share of businesses by increase in exporting / importing challenge in December 2023, compared with November 2023. Businesses currently trading and exported / imported in last 12 months, with 10+ employees and a presence in Scotland. Wave 101.

Source: BICS Weighted Scotland Estimates - Wave 101 from the Scottish Government.  For Figure 4 data see tables ‘ExportChallengeIncrease’ and ‘ImportChallengeIncrease’.