Manufacturers enter 2024 with increased optimism

31 January, 2024

However, by contrast, the share of companies who believe the UK is losing competitiveness against the US, India and China dwarfs those who believe the UK is gaining.

The survey also shows manufacturers are bullish about their prospects for the coming year with more than four fifths (44.4%) believing that conditions in the sector will improve, while a fifth (20.5%) see conditions deteriorating. In addition, almost two thirds (62%) of companies see opportunities outweighing the risks this year while just 14% disagree 

However, by contrast, more than four in ten companies (41.5%) see the UK economy deteriorating in 2024 compared to just over a third (36.6%) who see it improving. A similar proportion (37.6%) see the global economy getting worse this year compared to just under a third (31.2%) who see it improving.

In the year ahead, more than half of manufacturers (52.7%) see opportunities in new products while more than a quarter (27.3%) are expanding into new markets and a similar proportion (26.3%) are net zero opportunities. Furthermore, digital technologies have the potential to boost productivity with almost three quarters of companies (71.2%) believing digitising operations will boost operational efficiency. In addition, more than half of companies (52.2%) see generative AI increasing the productivity of their workforce.

However, more than half of companies still see risks from increased energy costs (53.2%) closely followed by the impact of political instability (43.9%). More than two thirds (36.1%) are still seeing supply chain disruption while a similar number (35.1%) see lack of access to domestic skills as a risk.

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