One in ten firms 'could become bankrupt' as result of customs delays after Brexit

01 Oct 2018

A survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) has suggested that 10% of businesses 'could become bankrupt' as a result of customs delays caused by Brexit.

According to the CIPS, 10% of businesses could go bankrupt as a result of customs delays of just ten to 30 minutes, while 14% of firms could become bankrupt if their goods are delayed for one to three hours.

John Glen, Economist at the CIPS, said: 'The UK economy could fall off a cliff on Brexit day if goods are delayed by just minutes at the border. Businesses have become used to operating efficiently with exceptionally lean, frictionless supply chains, where quick customs clearance is a given.'

The survey of 1,310 UK and EU-based supply chain managers also found that 23% of businesses plan to stockpile goods in the future, while 4% have already started. However, it has been suggested that stockpiling is 'not an option for all companies' due to a 'lack of sufficient warehousing capacity'.

48% of survey respondents said that they could not make any Brexit preparations due to ongoing uncertainty in regard to a future trade agreement between the UK and the EU. Additionally, half of the companies polled stated that they would 'struggle to find suppliers and skills in the UK' after Brexit.