UK supply chain concerns: other service activities
UK supply chain concerns: other service activities stood at 7% in Aug 2026, according to ONS — Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS). It is one of the indicators in the Exporting, importing and US tariffs (BICS) table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from Aug 2024 to Aug 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Exporting, importing and US tariffs (BICS) table
| Indicator | 08-2026 | 07-2026 | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 11-2025 | 08-2025 | 05-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concerned about increased barriers to trade | |||||||||||
| Other service activities | 7 | 4.3 | 2.6 | 21.2 | 16 | 5.8 | 2.9 | 4 | 11.8 | ||
| 0-9 employees | 15.3 | 14.2 | 11.3 | 12.2 | 16.5 | 13.1 | 13.5 | 11.2 | 11.3 | 11.8 |
Understanding UK supply chain concerns: other service activities
Repair shops, membership associations, dry cleaners, and personal wellness providers across the United Kingdom contribute to this miscellaneous service metric. The series measures the proportion of businesses within residual service activities reporting concerns regarding international trade barriers and supply chain bottlenecks. This category captures enterprises that do not fit into standard industrial, commercial, or professional groupings, isolating them for discrete analysis. Excluded from this scope are financial firms, public administration, and primary goods producers.
When analysing this dataset, observers should focus on month-on-month movements to detect sudden cost pressures affecting small-scale service providers. Seasonal factors can influence specific subsets within this residual group, such as personal care or repair trades. Analysts must avoid treating this catch-all indicator as a direct measure of any single industry, remembering that it aggregates diverse micro-enterprises with distinct operational models.
Frequently asked questions
- What kinds of businesses are grouped under other service activities?
- Repair shops, membership organisations, dry cleaners, and personal service providers across the United Kingdom.
- Why is this category treated separately from other service sectors?
- It captures residual enterprises that do not align with standard retail, professional, or administrative classifications.
- Does this series track specific consumer spending trends?
- No, it tracks the proportion of these diverse service businesses reporting worries over trade barriers and supply chains.