Make UK, which represents manufacturers in the UK, has released its annual analysis of UK manufacturing in its report UK manufacturing: the facts 2024.
The latest analysis of UK manufacturing from Make UK, formerly the Engineering Employers’ Federation, includes a wide variety of data about the contribution of UK manufacturing to the economy including exports, sectoral breakdown, R&D investment, salary levels and how the UK compares to other nations.
The data reveals that the sector contributed £217bn in output to the economy last year, supporting 2.6 million jobs. Firms are investing more than in 2023, with £38.8bn worth of investment taking place.
China remains the largest manufacturing nation with output worth $5.06tn (almost a third of global production), followed by the US with $2.69tn and Japan with $850bn. Germany remains the biggest manufacturing nation in Europe by some distance ($751bn) and retains its position as the world’s fourth largest manufacturing nation, followed by India and South Korea.
Mexico is in seventh, Russia in eighth, Italy in ninth, France in 10th, Taiwan in 11th and then the UK in 12th.
According to Make UK, this data reinforces the need for the UK to adopt a long-term industrial strategy as those countries that have such a strategy are clearly seeing the benefits on economic output.
Verity Davidge, director of policy at Make UK, said: “There is no getting away from the fact it’s deeply disappointing to see the UK drop out of the world’s top 10 manufacturing nations for the first time. However, this isn’t a reflection of any decline in UK industry, but specific factors and trends that are redrawing the contours of the global economy.
“These trends reinforce the need for the UK to react with a long-term industrial strategy to take competitive advantage of our undoubted strengths.”
The US remains the dominant export market for UK goods, worth £61.8bn and up from £56.7bn last year, with Germany the second highest destination (£33.bn), the Netherlands the third (£31bn) and Ireland the fourth (£28.2bn).
Six of the top 10 export markets are in the EU, which – according to Make UK – highlights the continued importance of the EU for UK goods, as well as the need for the new government to smooth out trade barriers with what overwhelmingly remains the UK’s dominant export market.
As for the regional picture, the north-west of England remains the leading manufacturing area of the UK, with output worth £29.5bn, and is closely followed by the south-east at £26.1bn.
By sector, the food and drink sector is the biggest contributor to manufacturing Gross Value Added (21%), followed by the transport sector (largely aerospace and automotive) at 15%.
The analysis also dispels the continuing myth that manufacturing jobs are badly paid. Average salaries in the sector rose by £2,281 to £38,769. This is 10% higher than average salaries in the wider economy, which are £35,404.
