Supply chain disruptions have dominated discussions in the business world during the past several months, and new data shows nearly half of Missouri's small businesses are reeling from their effects.
The data, collected through the U.S. Census Bureau's Small Business Pulse Survey of small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, showed 46.5 percent of surveyed Missouri businesses reporting domestic supplier delays between January-April of this year. Around 25 percent of those surveyed also reported outgoing shipping or delivery delays to their customers.
Businesses searching for alternative suppliers within the U.S. also struggled, per the study, with 22 percent reporting difficulties finding backups. Delays were less prevalent from foreign suppliers, with 18.5 percent of Missouri businesses reporting delays from international vendors and 8.6 percent having trouble finding alternatives.
Production delays stemming from the supply chain interruptions affected 13.5 percent of surveyed Missouri businesses, according to the study.
Missouri's responses were similar to those on the national scale: 44 percent of U.S. businesses as a whole reported domestic supplier delays, while 24.9 percent said they experienced delays shipping their own product out and 22 percent said they struggled to find alternative suppliers. Nationwide, 18.5 percent of businesses surveyed reported foreign supplier delays while 8.6 percent had difficulties locating alternative suppliers. Production delays impacted 13.5 percent of all businesses surveyed.
A compilation of the data, published by Filterbuy, also ranked each state based on the share of businesses reporting supply impacts: Missouri ranked No. 22 among the rest of the U.S., while top-ranked Wisconsin saw 53.3 percent of businesses reporting supplier delays while No. 50 New York saw 38 percent of businesses reporting those interruptions.
"In some respects, the situation has worsened the longer the pandemic has gone on," the report read, noting increased delays from U.S. suppliers. "Businesses today report delays and difficulties with both domestic and foreign suppliers at a higher percentage than they did in 2020."
The study broke the statistics down further by job sector and compared data collected from similar surveys over the course of the pandemic.
More than 60 percent of manufacturing, construction, retail, accommodation and food service businesses reported domestic supplier delays. In the wholesale trade business sector, 45 percent reported delays from foreign suppliers, outpacing all other job sectors. Information and service-based industries have seen the least impact.
While surveys between June 2020-December 2021 have seen a near 20 percent decrease in businesses reporting "large negative" impacts from the pandemic, moderate negative effects have hovered around 40 percent throughout the past two years. Businesses reporting a combined large or moderate impact were 90 percent at the dawn of the pandemic in America, though that statistic has since dropped to 66 percent.
Supplier delays, meanwhile, have increased across the board, with a 15 percent increase in domestic delays between late 2020 and early 2022, and a near 10 percent jump in firms facing delays from foreign providers.
The report also touched on factors that led to inflation, including an increased demand for durable goods that strained production capacity and labor shortages that have left many businesses of all sizes scrambling for staff.
"A number of factors have combined to create the widespread supply chain challenges the U.S. economy faces," the report read. "These factors have contributed to historically high inflation, which now threatens to send the U.S. economy into recession."
While the report didn't include city-specific information, recent studies from other groups have pointed to the pandemic's impact on labor productivity, new home construction, wages and more in Jefferson City.
Read the full report at filterbuy.com/resources.