The majority of UK manufacturers view the country as a more competitive place to locate their activities.
ADVERTISEMENTMore than half (52.7%) of UK manufacturers think their country is now a more competitive place to operate, compared to just 31% last year, although they are wary of the current threat to their competitiveness posed by China and the US.
The findings come from a 2024 survey by manufacturers' organisation Make UK and accountancy firm PwC, published on Monday.
The poll of more than 200 senior manufacturing executives shows that around a third believe the UK is increasing its competitiveness against Germany and France, and a similar number think they are moving ahead of Spain and Italy.
According to the study, after a very difficult few years due to the pandemic and the energy price shock, there are positive signs, with companies more optimistic about the prospects for manufacturing this new year.
Almost half (44.4%) of the manufacturers feel that conditions in the sector will improve, with only one in five believing the opposite.
"The last few years have been a rollercoaster of emotions for manufacturers, yet they have more than demonstrated their resilience time after time," Stephen Phipson, Make UK's chief executive, said.
Cara Haffrey, leader of manufacturing at PwC, added: "For many, despite January's to-do list likely looming large, as the headwinds of sustained economic challenges, geopolitical instability, steep employment and energy costs continue, the horizon seems brighter."
As a result, manufacturers are backing this bullishness with investment in new products, expansion into new markets and acceleration of the use of new digital technologies to improve their business.
71.2% of firms see the adoption of new digital technologies as a way to boost operational efficiency, while over half (52.2%) see generative AI increasing their workforces' productivity.
"We are now seeing some hope that conditions may be improving, amid a more supportive and stable policy environment, but this must be cemented within a long-term industrial strategy," Phipson said.
