According to data published by the ONS but originated by HMRC, total UK exports of goods (excluding precious metals) were -2.2% lower than in 2024, while imports grew by +2.6%; this meant that the trade deficit for goods increased to £225.6 billion. Exports of manufacturing technology equipment fell by -4% to £2.82 billion while imports increased by +8% to £2.87 billion, turning the surplus in 2024 into a marginal deficit in 2025.
This note is split into two parts – the first covers UK trade in all goods, excluding precious metals (because this is highly volatile due to the inclusion of movements of non-monetary gold) and the second looks at five specific aspects of the manufacturing technology sector. All trends and values are shown in current prices.
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In 2025, total UK exports of goods (excluding precious metals) fell to £377.5 billion (the lowest since 2021), while imports grew to £603.1 billion, although for imports this is still below both the 2022 and 2023 levels. These opposing trends mean that the trade deficit in goods reached a new high of -£225.6 billion.
Within this total, the European Union (EU) accounted for 48.2% of exports which is the highest share since 2022 which was the first real year of recovery after the pandemic; for imports, 52.8% arrived from the EU, the lowest ratio since 2022.
For exports, deliveries to the EU fell by -1.0%, while shipments elsewhere in the world were down by -3.2%. There is a similar pattern in the opposite direction for imports where arrivals from the EU grew by +1.3% but those from the rest of the world were +4.1% higher than in 2024.
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We have identified 4 elements of the manufacturing technology spectrum where data is available in sufficient detail to give meaningful trends – metalworking machine tools, tooling (including press tools and dies), tool & work-holding equipment (including parts & accessories) and additive manufacturing machines for metal. In addition, we have data for metrology equipment where the product headings are less specific but which we include in our overall definition for the trade data in our sector.
In 2025, UK exports of metalworking machine tools declined by -11% to £435.4 million, while imports fell by -13% to £673.2 million; this meant a reduced trade deficit of £237.9 million for this category.
On the same basis, exports of tooling (including press tools and dies) fell by -46% to £174.2 million (but this is largely a correction from an exceptionally high figure in 2024 that looks to be out of line with the general trend); similarly, imports grew by +56% to £357.3 million but in this case, it looks like the 2024 figures are too low in a couple of categories.
Exports of tool/work-holding equipment – this category also includes parts & accessories for machine tools – declined by -18% to £240.1 million while imports increased by +13% to £315.9 million).
The AM metal machinery element of the calculation is the smallest by value with exports in 2025 worth £21.0 million, a fall of -2% compared to the 2024 figure; imports of AM machines for metal grew by +21% to £11.2 million, so there is still a trade surplus in this category, albeit one that is dwarfed in value by the other groups.
Partly because the product headings are much broader, so will include some equipment that is not really in the scope of metrology for the manufacturing technology sector, this is the largest group by value. UK exports of goods in this group rose by +7% compared to 2024 to a value of £1,749.5 million, while imports were +12% higher at £1,315.0 million. As a result, the trade surplus in this category of the manufacturing technology sector fell slightly to +£434.5 million.
Adding all this together gives the totals that we noted in the opening paragraph of this note. The was a trade deficit of -£52 million, tiny in comparison with the total trade value of £5.7 billion.
If you would like further details of trade in any of these groups of products, please contact Martin Redhead at MTA (email: [email protected]) to discuss the data you are interested in seeing in more detail.