BRITISH manufacturers face two years of feeble growth, which the government must address as a “matter of national urgency,” an industry body warned today.
Engineering and manufacturing organisation Make UK said its latest forecasts indicated the sector will remain flat this year and grow by just half the rate of the economy in 2025, urging ministers to adopt a long-term industrial strategy “which will really shift the dial on the UK’s economic performance.”
Its survey of more than 300 firms found orders are “consistent but subdued,” while recruitment and investment plans are fairly strong.
It added the strong performance of manufacturing in the south-east of England was yet further evidence that “levelling up” is failing to address regional economic imbalances.
Fhaheen Khan, senior economist at Make UK, said: “While manufacturers’ own confidence remains robust, the overall prospects for the sector are weak for the foreseeable future.
“While there are clearly external factors at play, the UK economy has a fundamental growth problem which a business-as-usual policy process simply will not address.
“The next government of whatever colour must address this fundamental problem as a matter of national urgency, beginning with a long-term industrial strategy which will really shift the dial on the UK’s economic performance.”
Richard Austin, head of manufacturing at accountants BDO, which helped with the report, said: “Manufacturers have continued to show their ability to overcome wave after wave of challenges but they cannot continue to do this indefinitely without some more long-term support from the government.
“We have reached a tipping point where the ramifications of regional disparities may permanently affect the manufacturing sector, which could hamper future growth.”
A government spokesperson claimed: “We have a clear strategy in place to boost UK industry.
Our advanced manufacturing plan will invest in the long-term future of our innovative manufacturing industry by providing £4.5 billion of targeted support, and our battery strategy could help create 100,000 highly skilled jobs.
“We have also been firmly backing our auto industry to keep on growing, with £2bn of capital and R&D funding to 2030, Tata’s investment of over £4bn to build a new gigafactory and Nissan’s £2bn EV investment in Sunderland that will create jobs and opportunities across the country.”
