The majority of Queensland businesses say they are experiencing some impact from the Middle East war.
One in five have cancelled jobs or contracts as a result and more than 40 percent are already passing on increased costs to customers.
A Business Chamber Queensland survey, released this week, found 63 percent of businesses had seen moderate to severe cost impacts.
Chamber CEO Heidi Cooper said the crisis was affecting businesses of “every size, every sector, and in every region of the state”.
The impacts included spiking fuel prices, supply and distribution challenges or rising costs in supply chains.
“Two in three businesses told us they are experiencing moderate to severe cost impacts, and many are reporting price increases in the order of 11 to 50 percent,” Ms Cooper said.
“That scale of inflating costs is forcing decisions that no business wants to make.
“We’re seeing businesses take immediate steps just to keep operating – more than four in ten have passed costs on, more than a quarter have changed delivery and logistics schedules, and close to 18 percent have deferred or cancelled jobs or contracts.”
The survey also found:
- Nearly one in five businesses are cutting production or service levels
- 15 percent are reducing operating hours
- 13.3 percent are asking staff to stay at home
Ms Cooper said more than 44 percent were not confident they could manage fuel supply over the next four weeks.
“Queensland businesses are incredibly resilient and will adapt,” she said.
“But they want targeted support, particularly cash flow measures, help to retain employees, and clear, coordinated communication – all of which will make the difference between riding out this crisis or scaling back operations.”
