Manufacturing Outlook Report Q4 2024 – Make UK
Business confidence among Britain’s manufacturers has dipped at the sharpest rate since the onset of the pandemic in response to rising costs, according to Make UK and BDO’s Manufacturing Outlook Q4 2024 report.
In its final edition of the year, the report finds that the mood among companies has deteriorated considerably since the last survey in Q3, when almost six in ten companies saw a brighter economic outlook under a new Government.
70% of manufacturers told us that they have seen their costs already increase by up to a fifth in the last year, while almost one in ten had seen their costs increase by up to a half.
In particular, the survey shows almost nine in ten companies (86%) will see their business costs increase due to the Make Work Pay reforms, with almost half of companies (44%) saying the increase will be ‘significant’.
In other news, output and order levels have remained positive, with recruitment and investment intentions stable. However, with substantial extra business costs set to be added to those that companies were already facing, particularly the changes to National Insurance Contributions, Make UK has revised its sector growth forecasts, with a -0.2% contraction in 2024 and growth of just 0.7% in 2025.