The UK government is being urged to help manufacturers after a new report warned the sector has ‘hit the buffers’.

Make UK and business advisers BDO said their research among more than 300 manufacturers suggested that increasing employment taxes and wider business costs were affecting companies, as well as worries of a global trade war.

The latest manufacturing outlook report compiled by Make UK and BDO showed the industry kicked off the year in a ‘sombre’ fashion. The index measuring output fell to negative 1 point for the first quarter from positive 20 points for the final quarter of 2024.

‘Albeit the sector wide contraction is only minor, the negative balance at the start of a year is an ominous one,’ Make UK said.

Firms are freezing recruitment and considering redundancies, while investment plans are being delayed and in some cases cancelled altogether, said the report.

Make UK called on Westminster to reform business rates, fix the ‘broken’ skills system and launch a long-term industrial strategy which has advanced manufacturing at its heart.

Verity Davidge, policy director at Make UK, said: ‘Manufacturers feel like they are currently wading through treacle, facing barriers and increased costs being imposed on them at every turn.

‘The one light at the end of the tunnel is the prospect of a modern, long-term industrial strategy which will enable them to plan for the future with confidence in a supportive policy environment.

‘This cannot be a case of more jam tomorrow, come the summer it has to be a case of jam today.’

By Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent

source: PA

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