Earlier this week, our colleagues at the Institute of Export & International Trade produced a piece on the UK’s trade figures for October; while we don’t usually report on the monthly trade figures, they highlight a continuing declines in UK exports after taking the effects of inflation into account – this is not just concentrated in the EU.
However, the extensive article goes on to highlight some other economic news relevant to the manufacturing sector and this is where the main interest lies. They note that Make UK’s latest forecast shows manufacturing output falling by -4.4% in 2022, although this compares with a very strong 2021.
They also highlight a recent report from Barclays Bank which showed £23.6 billion worth of goods in UK manufacturers’ warehouses waiting completion because of supply chain delays, with 72% of businesses surveyed reporting that they had items awaiting completion. We can’t help but reflect that the grossing-up process may have somewhat over-stated the value of these holding but the underlying message, that the supply chain crisis is not over, remains valid.
Finally, they note the recent reprimand issued by the UK Statistics Authority to HM Government over its continued claims that new post-Brexit trade deals were worth £800 billion to the UK economy. Many of these deals were simply rolling-over the pre-existing EU deals and so to describe these as “new” is, at best, misleading.
You can find the full article at https://www.export.org.uk/news/625852/Sluggish-trade-data-for-October-as-global-recession-gathers-pace.htm and, in turn, this includes links to many of the stories that they have reported.