The poll, released Monday by Goldman Sachs, found that 69 percent of small-business owners said issues with the supply chain have hurt their bottom lines. Most owners also said a problem is that suppliers are favoring larger companies over smaller ones.
Owners didn’t report being optimistic about the future, as just 13 percent of negatively affected businesses think supply chain woes will ease over the next six months.
Molly Day, the vice president of public affairs at the National Small Business Association, told Newsweek that the survey further outlines what the association is hearing from its members.
“We’re hearing a ton about it from our members,” Day said. “It’s a challenge to get things on time, things are more expensive, and shipping things is a really big issue too.”
President Joe Biden has touted progress on the issue since his administration started working with companies and ports set out on a “90-day sprint” in the fall to alleviate supply chain bottlenecks. Some ports moved to 24/7 operations, and major retailers such as FedEx, Home Depot and Walmart expanded hours.
In a press conference last week, Biden told reporters that work on the supply chain problems is “not done” and that more resources will be provided by the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress in November.
The White House has also said supply chain issues aren’t unique to the U.S. but rather a global problem exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
But shortages and delays have further aggravated rising prices. Inflation is at a 40-year high. The Department of Labor reported that the Consumer Price Index rose 7 percent in the year ending in December.
Biden has repeatedly urged Congress to pass his “Build Back Better” bill, now stalled in the Senate after House passage, to help ease inflationary pressures.
“There’s a lot we have to do,” the president told reporters last week. “It’s not going to be easy, but I think we can get it done. But it’s going to be painful for a lot of people in the meantime. That’s why the single best way—the single best way to take the burden off middle-class and working-class folks is to pass the Build Back Better piece that are things that they’re paying a lot of money for now.”
Small-business owners, however, say the federal government hasn’t done enough to address these economic hardships.
Roughly two-thirds of owners polled said the government hasn’t done enough to remedy the supply chain, inflation or hiring challenges that companies face.
More than 80 percent of small-business owners said they support lawmakers providing more financial aid to stores and companies still struggling amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Day said easing regulations where possible and addressing staffing issues would be two steps the federal government could take to further assist small businesses, as well as reauthorizing COVID-specific economic injury disaster loans. More than 80 percent of business owners said they support Congress reupping the EIDL loans.
Overall, less than a quarter of small businesses think the economy is in a good or excellent state.
Goldman Sachs, in partnership with Babson College and David Binder Research, surveyed 1,446 small businesses from January 10 through 13.
Update 01/24/22, 3:30 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comments from the National Small Business Association.