The Manufacturing Barometer maps confidence, trends and opinions from within the manufacturing industry where the findings are used to help lobby local and national Government to ensure that SME manufacturers are receiving more of the right support they need to grow within an ever competitive environment.

Each quarter the survey looks at a ‘special focus’ relating to current news or activities from within the sector and/or economy.

This quarter’s barometer uncovers business priorities for SME Manufacturers in 2022 and the key factors that may impact their growth.

The latest Manufacturing Barometer, which surveyed more than 184 SMEs across the UK, shows that 71% of companies are expecting to grow over the next six months and 58% predict an increase in profits.

The number of companies trading at increased levels compared to their pre-pandemic position continues to grow, highlighting the resurgence in fortunes since lockdown eased.

Many external factors having a beneficial impact appear to be driven by general confidence in the market. Encouragingly, 77% of those questioned are experiencing positive levels of customer demand and 70% said their order book is stable.

Despite these optimistic findings, some external factors are still causing significant challenges for SME manufacturers. 90% have said that longer lead times are impacting their ability to keep up with the high levels of customer demand. Furthermore, a massive 93% of respondents are still struggling with supply chain disruption. Therefore, this appears to be an ongoing problem for many businesses and could negatively impact performance and growth for UK manufacturing

This survey collected 184 responses from SME manufacturing businesses in the UK between 10 – 21 January 2022.

Download the National Manufacturing Barometer report here: Q3 2021-22

East Midlands report
South East report
West Midlands report
Yorkshire and Humber report