page_title: Manufacturing in the United Kingdom
section_title: Recent trends
hierarchical_section_title: Manufacturing in the United Kingdom / Recent trends
caption_attribution_description: English: A view of the Swan Hunter shipyard in Wallsend, England in March 2007, a few months after its sale, before the cranes were dismantled. The photo is taken from a skyscraper west of the yard looking east. The low grey building on the left is the main hangar of the dockyard. Behind the leftmost cranes the river Tyne can be seen as it rounds its final bend and continues towards the sea. The cranes are lit by the setting sun cutting under the black cloud layer that forms the backdrop. I took this photo myself; it is also visible at http://freaknet.org/martin/foto/Wallsend/maxi/20070319-cranes-crop.jpg
context_page_description: The United Kingdom, where the Industrial Revolution began in the late 18th century, has a long history of manufacturing, which contributed to Britain's early economic growth. During the second half of the 20th century, there was a steady decline in the importance of manufacturing and the economy of the United Kingdom shifted toward services. Manufacturing, however, remains important for overseas trade and accounted for 44% of goods exports in 2014. In June 2010, manufacturing in the United Kingdom accounted for 8.2% of the workforce and 12% of the country's national output. The East Midlands and West Midlands were the regions with the highest proportion of employees in manufacturing. London had the lowest at 2.8%.
context_section_description: Although the manufacturing sector's share of both employment and the UK's GDP has steadily fallen since the 1960s, data from the OECD shows that manufacturing output has steadily increased in terms of both production and value since 1945. A 2009 report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, citing data from the UK Office for National Statistics, stated that manufacturing output (gross value added at 2007 prices) has increased in 35 of the 50 years between 1958 and 2007, and output in 2007 was at record levels, approximately double that in 1958.
  Manufacturing employment has fallen faster in the UK since 1998. This started with manufacturing productivity flatlining from 1993 to 1997 and a rise in pound sterling. PricewaterhouseCoopers presumed that British manufacturing was less able to adapt to new production immune from Asian competition. Since 1993, the UK has also invested less in R&D and adaptation than its OECD competitors. However, manufacturing remains an important sector of the modern British economy and the UK is one of the most attractive countries in the world for direct foreign industrial investment in 2003.
  Yet as of 2019 the manufacturing sector was worth £393 billion or $514 billion in the United Kingdom. According to office of national statistics.com.
  Manufacturing has recently been rising in the UK with increased domestic demand with a fall in the pound too. The UK leaving the EU could lead to increased opportunity for access to cheaper raw materials from Africa and South America. More firms returning their production to the UK have also bucked the trend.
caption: Swan Hunter shipyards in North Tyneside seen in 2007 shortly after closure.
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