Welcome to our fourth annual Regional Manufacturing Outlook report, in partnership with BDO, in which we outline how trends in manufacturing over the past year have evolved around the UK.
Drawing data from EEF’s quarterly Manufacturing Outlook survey our regional report shows that industry had fared well across all regions over the past year. As always, the sectoral make up in each region means that the leading and lagging regions have shifted about somewhat, compared with a year ago.
Regional snapshot
The past year has seen a pick-up in confidence across the majority of UK regions, continuing the recovery from the wobble in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote. Only the East of England, South East and London, and West Midlands bucked this trend, remaining below their pre-Brexit levels. The broad improvement in confidence is not that surprising given the exceptional year manufacturing on the whole has had, with order books well stocked across the year. Nevertheless uncertainty, particularly the closer we get to the 2019 EU exit deadline, as well as rising global trade tensions, risks hindering manufacturers’ outlook in the coming year.