Top 10 facts about the UK manufacturing industry
Manufacturing Global lists 10 2019/20 facts about the UK manufacturing industry explained by Make UK.
Following analysis conducted by Make UK and Santandar, the two report that the UK manufacturing industry is among the top 10 countries in the world.
Economic output
Currently within the United Kingdom (UK), the manufacturing sector accounts for US$243.67bn of its output. Ranking the country ninth among the world’s largest manufacturers.
Global exports
When it comes to global exports in the UK, 44% of its global exports are worth over US$346.48bn to the economy.
Locations for UK exports
While the United States (US) is the largest single export market for the UK totalling US$150.1bn, exports to the top seven ranking European countries for manufacturing which the UK exports to totals US$300.3bn.
Employment
Currently in the UK, the manufacturing sector employs 2.7mn people, with an average salary of US$42,630–13% higher than the rest of the economy.
Of those 2.7mn employees, the North West of the country employs the most people in the manufacturing sector totalling 350,000 people.
Research and development
When it comes to research and development (R&D) in the UK, the manufacturing sector accounts for 66% of the country’s R&D — 15% of total business investments.
Of that investment, the transportation sector currently has the most expenditure when it comes to R&D totalling 35.6%.
Regions in the UK
Across the country, manufacturing is a key sector for the economy. Currently in the UK, the region with the highest figures for employment, economic output and regional output is the North West with 350,000, US$36.2bn and 16.3% respectively.
On the other hand the lowest figures in the region come from Northern Ireland and Scotland with 95,000 employees and a US$6.6bn economic output in Northern Ireland, while Scotland has the lowest regional output totalling 10.5%.
Biggest sector for the UK
Currently in the UK, the top three ranking sectors for Gross Value Added (GVA) are:
- Transport — 25.5%
- Chemicals and pharmaceuticals — 17.9%
- Other manufacturing — 13.2%
Other manufacturing, transport and chemicals and pharmaceuticals are also the three ranking sectors for goods exports with 22.1%, 14.9% and 14.2% respectively.
Fastest growing exports
Out of the multiple sectors that make up the manufacturing sector, the three that are the fastest growing for exports include: transport (7.4%), food and drink (5.3%), and rubber, plastics and non-metallic minerals (3.9%).
While the slowest growing for exports in manufacturing is the metals industry (2.1%).
Biggest investors
When it comes to investments in advancing manufacturing, the sectors with the highest investment growth include: electrical equipment (14.7%), transport (13.9%) and machinery (12.7%).
While the lowest investments have been made in the chemical and pharmaceutical sector (-4.9%).
Compared to other countries
Taking a look at other countries around the world, the UK ranks:
- Tenth for exports of goods
- Second for service trade
- Seventh for trade
- 9th for GDP
- 27th for GDP per capita
For more information on manufacturing topics — please take a look at the latest edition of Manufacturing Global.
