The latest annual data for the UK manufacturing industry from Make UK shows the sector accounts for £191 billion of output, a 7% growth over the last five years.
The research, named UK Manufacturing Facts, 2020/21, published by the manufacturers’ organisation and Santander UK, highlights the critical importance of avoiding barriers to trade between the UK and the EU; manufacturing exports to the top six EU markets alone are worth around a third of total goods exports.
While the US was the single largest importer of UK manufactured products, seven out of the top 10 UK export markets are based in Europe, including Germany (2nd), France (3rd) and Ireland (4th). China, ranked fifth, was the only other top ten destination for UK goods outside of Europe and the US.
Exports to the top six European markets – Germany, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium – were worth £117.4 billion alone.
46% of all UK manufactured goods were exported to European countries combined, totalling £169 billion. The US was the single biggest export destination and saw a 19% increase on last year, equating to £54.4 billion.
According to the data, transport manufacturers were the largest exporters (22%); food and drink remained the leading subsector for output (17%) while transport also generated the most in terms of R&D (36.4%).
This spend on R&D highlights the critical importance of the automotive and aerospace sectors to the long-term high value growth of the economy, despite the major impact of the pandemic on these two sectors in particular.
The research reveals that while the North West remains the single biggest region in terms of output (£27.2 billion), London (£8.2 billion) and the South East (£22.5 billion) are growing in prominence, with the South East increasing output by almost 6% in the last five years.
This is down to the heavy concentration of electronics, worth £4.7 billion alone in the South East, which was already benefitting from the drive towards digital technologies and automation, a trend which the pandemic is likely to have accelerated.
Commenting, Stephen Phipson, chief executive at Make UK, said: “These figures lay bare the overwhelming importance for manufacturers of trade with our closest market and the need to avoid imposing any barriers which will make this more difficult.
“Whilst the United States remains the biggest market and presents significant opportunities for export growth, it is a fallacy to believe that geography is not the biggest factor driving trade. For UK manufacturers, access to their biggest market must be a premium.
“The figures also provide an important reminder that we’re still one of the top ten biggest manufacturing nations and we want to see policy makers working with industry to help move UK manufacturing up the rankings.”
Make UK www.makeuk.org