The UK’s Manufacturing Growth Hits a 27-Year High
Manufacturing growth gathered pace in April as production increased for the 11th consecutive month, seeing a further acceleration of expansion in the UK manufacturing sector.
According to a recent press release from the Institue of Export and International Trade, the UK manufacturing sector is growing at the fastest pace in a decade as inflows of new business from both domestic and overseas markets strengthened.
IHS Markit’s UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 58.9 in March, which is the highest reading since February 2011.
This was supported by improved growth of output, new orders and employment along with increased supplier lead times.
The March reading marked the tenth successive month of manufacturing output growth.
Almost two-thirds of manufacturers expect output to continue rising over the coming year.
To keep up with this rise in demand and stay ahead of the competition, manufacturers need to turn to Digital Transformation.
Read the full press release at the end of this blog post.
Adopting Digital Transformation
Through the implementation of new technologies, business processes are becoming more efficient.
The idea of digital transformation is to use technology not just to replicate an existing service in a digital format, but to use new technologies to transform that process into something significantly better.
Businesses implementing a digital-first approach to processes, operations, and customer engagement are achieving a more streamlined and efficient way of working.
Take automation, for example, a necessary step towards digital transformation.
Automated processes are a key driver of productivity – resulting in flexible, transparent, and stable supply chains.
Through automation, systems, workflows and processes can all be enhanced to become faster, more efficient and much more valuable to the organisation.
Embracing Digital Transformation with DriveWorks
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been hearing from our customers who have been embracing change and thriving as a result.
Whether they’re changing their manufacturing to provide much-needed supplies, working on new product ideas, or using this time to improve and work on projects they don’t usually have time for, many of our customers are focusing on moving forward and working smarter.
Implementing an online configurator with DriveWorks can help you to stay ahead of the competition, reduce costs, and win more business.
Our product configurator examples are a great way to see what’s possible with DriveWorks.
Head to driveworkslive.com to learn how versatile and customizable DriveWorks is and get some inspiration for your own products.
Press Release from the Institue of Export and International Trade
The UK’s recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic gathered pace in April as manufacturing production increased for the 11th consecutive month, hitting a 27-year high.
The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) scored a better-than-expected 60.9 for the month last month – its highest reading since 1994. Any score above 50 indicates growth.
A third straight month of increasing new orders, helped by stronger client confidence and the reopening of more parts of the economy, were behind the results.
Increasingly positive
“The outlook for the sector is increasingly positive, with two-thirds of manufacturers expecting output to be higher in one year’s time,” Rob Dobson, director at IHS Markit, told City AM.
However, he also noted that “export growth remains relatively subdued as small manufacturers struggle to export.”
Supply chains continue to be impacted by the introduction of new rules for trade with the EU following the end of the transition period on New Year’s Eve.
New orders
According to Manufacturing Global the results for manufacturing output and new orders were among the best seen over the past seven years, which in turn has led to a strong increase in employment.
At the start of the second quarter, 66% of companies forecast that output will be higher in a year’s time due to expectations of less disruption related to Covid-19 and Brexit.
They also reported that the national economic recovery, improved client confidence and new product launches were driving confidence.
Manufacturing surge
The report is in line with the CBI’s latest Industrial Trends survey which saw optimism among manufacturers surge in Q1 of this year.
Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief economist, said: “Manufacturers have reported the biggest increase in optimism in nearly 50 years in this month’s quarterly survey. Phased reopening has lifted the mood among firms, notably driving orders, employment, and investment plans.”
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