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Nearly 6 in 10 SMB Owners Expect Supply Chain Woes to Ease Soon: PNC

Small and mid-size business (SMB) owners, squeezed by inflation, expect to raise prices in the next six months, but are counting on supply chain disruptions soon to ease, a PNC survey found. The bank said it canvassed 500 SMB owners…

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Jan. 4 to Feb. 3, finding that among the 51% expecting to increase their prices, nearly two-thirds (63%) will do so to try to keep pace with rising non-labor costs, a “significant increase” compared with 33% who cited that factor for hiking prices in PNC’s previous survey in the fall. The "all items" consumer price index rose 7.9% for the 12 months ending February, the largest increase since the 12-month period ended January 1982, reported the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Thursday. About a third (34%) of SMB owners who rely on a supply chain said the timeliness of parts and finished-product procured had worsened in the previous six months, said PNC. More than a quarter (28%) that rely on inventory “are faced with the challenge of not having enough supply to meet expected demand,” it said. But nearly six in 10 (57%) said they expect “the timeliness of their supply chain issues to improve in the next six months,” it said.