Twenty-eight per cent of businesses with 10 or more employees cited international conflict as a supply chain concern for the year ahead in August 2026, up 17 percentage points from September 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The figures, published by the ONS on 3 September 2026 in its Business insights and impact on the UK economy bulletin, show international conflict has become a far more pressing worry for UK businesses over the past year. The concern level was broadly stable compared with July 2026, but the 17-percentage-point rise from September 2025 tells a sharper story about how geopolitical anxiety has built over twelve months.
Climate change was the second most cited supply chain concern, with 13 per cent of businesses flagging it in August 2026 — up 4 percentage points from July 2026 and 9 percentage points from September 2025. So while international conflict remains the dominant worry by some distance, climate-related concern is rising faster month on month.
That gap matters in Kent. The county’s economy is heavily tied to cross-Channel movement — through the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel-linked freight routes, and the motorway network feeding both — meaning businesses here are exposed to exactly the kind of disruption these figures describe. Any worsening of international tensions or weather-related delays on key corridors could translate quickly into higher costs, stock shortfalls, or scheduling pressure for local manufacturers, logistics firms and freight operators.
The data come from the Business Insights and Conditions Survey, a voluntary ONS survey covering late July to early August 2026. Supply chain concerns are one of several resilience indicators tracked alongside energy prices, fuel prices and trade disruption. Kent County Council, local chambers of commerce and transport operators may draw on this type of data when planning economic support and business resilience measures.
Businesses reliant on imported inputs or just-in-time logistics may wish to review supplier arrangements, inventory buffers and shipping contingencies highlighted in the figures.
Source: @ONS