Qimtek operates a clearing house for contract manufacturing and their Contract Manufacturing Index (CMI) tracks the purchasing budget of companies that are looking to outsource manufacturing work. During 2025, their activity index was +47% higher than the previous year, with machining up by +27% and fabrication by +60% (they do not quote a figure for the “other” section.
Across 2025 as a whole, there were 1,254 projects from 427 companies, with 19.8 million parts being quoted. Average lead times fell during the year, with the average down to 19 days (20 days in 2024). The Automotive industry had the most projects during the year (31%), with Industrial Machinery accounting for 22% and Heavy Vehicles & Construction Machinery at 11%.
Looking at the quarterly profile, overall business levels fell back by -39% in the 4th period of the year but despite this, they were still higher than in the final quarter of 2024 (+64%). Machining accounted for 58% of projects in Q4-25 and that buyers of machining services have a total outsourcing value of £13.3 million. The index for machining is -31% down on the 3rd quarter but is +57% higher than the same period in 2024.
Fabrication accounted for 33% of projects in the final period of 2025, with a total outsourcing value of £12.3 million in this category. Activity in this group is -53% down on the previous quarter but +57% higher than a year earlier. “Other” processes covered the remaining 9% of projects in the final quarter; the value here was +8% higher than the previous quarter and +117% up on Q4-2024.
In the 4th quarter of 2025, Industrial machinery was the top sector, accounting for 36% of the total project count; this was followed by Construction (16%) and Food & Beverage (+11%).
You can get more details on this report from the Qimtek website at https://www.qimtek.co.uk/blog/contract-manufacturing-index-2025.