Manufacturers in Cymru rebound to pre-pandemic levels
Manufacturers in Cymru have seen output recover to more than 13% above that recorded in 2019 according to the latest snapshot of the sectors’ contribution to the nation’s economy.
The Make UK/BDO Annual Regional Manufacturing Outlook report shows the importance of the manufacturing sector to the economy accounting for 138,000 highly skilled jobs, 10% of the overall total.
Manufacturing is also worth almost a fifth (16%) of the economy, the highest dependence level of any area of the UK.
Three major sectors account for almost half of manufacturing production with the largest being the transport sector (largely the aerospace supply chain) worth almost a fifth (17.8%) of industrial output, followed by the food and drink sector worth 15.2% and metals at 11.3%.
EU
In 2024 the EU was the dominant destination for exports (61%) which is the highest exposure of any English region or devolved nation. This is followed by North America (15%) and Asia and Oceania (13%).
Janis Richards, Director of Make UK in Cymru, the manufacturers’ organisation, said: “Industry remains critical to the growth of the Cymru economy, providing high value, high skill jobs and aiding the process of creating wealth across the UK.
“The Government has made a welcome bold statement of its intent to tackle the UK’s anaemic growth at national and regional level with its industrial and trade strategies.
“This should now be allied with the local growth strategies and priorities of each region, including infrastructure and innovation, together with other measures to ensure the UK is an attractive place to do business.”
Vital
Matthew Sewell, Head of Manufacturing in the South West and Wales at BDO, a global network of independent accounting and advisory firms, added: “The government has made clear that their industrial strategy is proudly place based and these results remind us that manufacturing in the Cymru region is a great place to start.
“Accounting for a fifth of the region’s output and ten per cent of its employment, manufacturing is undoubtedly vital to the continued growth of the region.
“What these businesses need now are targeted investment and support to locate new trading partners, boost export levels and bridge the skills gap.”
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Have the employees renumeration got higher as a result of this perceived increase or is it built on the back of their labour with no real gain for them.
I think the answer is very obvious. Sadly.
Lot more meaningful to compare current levels of manufacturing activity with those years before the great globalist betrayal became fashionable and work was shifted daily to China, other .E Asian countries, and selected E European countries that “needed” propping up after departing the Soviet bloc. We have not come close to recovering from that sell out which probably peaked in the Blair/Brown era but left to bed in permanently by the puppets of the international financial institutions, Cameron &Osborne. But who cares ? City of London has done ever so well. Just wait till their main lines of business buzz… Read more »
The economy minister should be ringing all these businesses up and asking them what they need to grow.