Amongst ongoing inflation, as well as other financial challenges facing the economy, activity in the UK manufacturing industry has reached a new 15-month low.
According to a recent update, CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index remains below 50 points for the fifth month in a row. This month also reached its lowest value since December 2023 of 46.9 points. Prior to this recent drop, the index stood at 48.3 points.
With inflation continuing to sit at 3% prices remain high, placing strain on manufacturing business profits, as well as consumer spending.
In a statement, the RSM UK National Head of Manufacturing, Mike Thornton, stated the challenges preventing manufacturing growth are absolutely evident. Previous to this statement, Thornton had confidence in the growth of UK manufacturing in spite of these challenges to the UK Manufacturing Industry. On his outlook to 2025, he stated:
“Indeed we expect manufacturers to focus their investment in 2025 around digital technologies as they increasingly look to improve productivity. While the sugar rush of government spending won’t last forever, accelerated investment in 2025 for UK manufacturing should leave the sector in a more durable state heading into 2026.”
In spite of the lowered activity and rising costs, February saw an increase in optimism towards growth. This has been accredited to investment spending, as well as other factors such as new products and marketing initiatives.
At AJL Finance, we specialise in a variety of sectors in the UK economy, such as manufacturing business loans.
