In September 2021, Buckinghamshire businesses highlighted the following issues and trends to Buckinghamshire Business First business advisors..
- Rising costs
- The construction sector report that concrete and steel costs have risen by a third, due to a surge in demand.
- High shipping costs are leading to some firms having to put up prices, and some deciding to seek UK suppliers to negate the need to import,
- Material shortages
- Particularly within the construction sector.
- Some shortages attributed to HS2
- Staff shortages
- The construction sector report shortages of bricklayers with 1-3 years experience
- Recruitment
- Increased levels of recruitment
- Increased interest in taking on Apprentices
- Low carbon agenda
- Businesses prioritising survival / recovery over low carbon investments.
- Brexit
- EU suppliers refusing to ship goods due to paperwork difficulty
BBF use this intelligence to inform local business support activity, and share it with central Government (BEIS) on a weekly basis to inform national strategy.
