UK manufacturing’s competitiveness ‘disappointing’: New league table

According to the business advisory firm Deloitte's new global manufacturing competitiveness index, China, India and Republic of Korea are the top ranked countries for manufacturing competitiveness; the US, Japan, UK and Western European countries are expected to become less competitive over the next five years with the UK itself, currently ranked 17th, expected to drop three positions to 20 in five years. Asian giants China, India and the Republic of Korea are expected to retain their top three rankings over the next five years. In contrast, the dominant manufacturing superpowers of the late 20th century are expected to become less competitive. Other Western European nations will be similarly challenged especially the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy and Belgium. David Raistrick (pictured), UK manufacturing leader at Deloitte commented: "China and India have been emerging as global leaders in manufacturing for a number of years now, and this survey highlights the increasing dominance that these two major economies will continue to have over the remainder of this decade. "It is disappointing to see that the UK is ranked outside the top 10, positioned at number 17 in an index of 26. Further, it is predicted that the UK will drop three places over the next five years. The fact that both the US and Germany are ranked in the top 10 shows that the drivers of competitiveness are not just cost-based. Both the US and Germany have high wage costs and rigorous safety and environmental standards in place, similar to the UK, yet the US, for example, is given a competitiveness score of 5.84, more than double the UK's of 2.82. "It is vital that the new UK government works jointly with manufacturers to ensure they can improve their global competitiveness. The UK manufacturing sector is predominantly focused on emerging new technologies and high tech industry, we must continue to invest in and develop these areas. Given the significant proportion of UK GDP earned through our manufacturing base, and the number of people employed in this sector, any further slippage in our global competitiveness will have a real impact on the broader UK economy."