Manufacturing in the driving seat when it comes to exports and R&D
UK is the 10th largest exporter
Industry wages 13% higher than rest of the economy
The UK retained its position as the ninth leading manufacturer and tenth in terms of global exports with output totalling £191bn in 2019 – a growth of 7% over the last five years. The data also reveals that among the 2.7 million people employed by UK manufacturers, the average salary stands at £34,538 – 13% higher than the average UK salary.
The North West remains the single biggest region in terms of output, London and the South East combined are now significantly the largest, worth some £30.7bn. This is down to the heavy concentration of electronics – worth £4.7bn 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.
The data, captured before the Coronavirus outbreak shows that goods exports (53%) outweighed that of services (47%) while the sector continues to punch above its weight contributing 66% of total UK spend on R&D and 16% of business investment.
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.
Stephen Phipson
Chief Executive, Make UK
Retaining our position as the ninth leading manufacturer makes it clear that the UK is still a major player on the international stage, but we must not rest on our laurels. This data underlines the importance of prioritising manufacturing as the UK establishes new trading relationships with partners around the world.
Paul Brooks
UK Head of Manufacturing, Santander UK
