Manufacturing
Manufacturing has been, and continues to be an important part of the UK economy. UK manufacturing has well established strengths in sectors such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals and electronics, and through diversification and recognising the need to evolve and embrace new and evolving markets, UK manufacturing is in a strong position and well placed to respond to new challenges and future opportunities.
A snapshot of the continued importance of UK manufacturing:
- The UK continues to be one of the world’s largest manufacturers
- £ 140 billion per annum to the economy
- 55% of UK exports and over 2.5m workforce jobs
- 74% of business R&D
- The UK is the seventh largest exporter of high or medium-high technology goods in the OECD, representing 65% of total goods exports by the UK manufacturing sector
- 3rd largest destination for inward foreign direct investment in manufacturing in the OECD (behind US and Netherlands)
- Inward investment generated 94,000 jobs in 2009/10, a 20% rise on the previous year.
- Manufacturing is changing – 50% of capital expenditure in manufacturing is already in intangible assets like brands, training and design.
Recent business surveys have been very encouraging, indicating that manufacturing has returned to growth. However, it is clear that investment and exports have been particularly affected by the recession. It is vitally important to provide the right conditions to ensure UK manufacturing succeeds in the globally competitive environment, addressing the barriers that businesses face such as access to finance, regulation, tax and skills. Significant opportunities exist in manufacturing, particularly around high value manufacturing. Despite the recent slowdown in global growth, the world economy is predicted to double in size over the next two decades driven by growth in emerging markets such as China and India. The transition to a low carbon economy will also present significant opportunities.
