The strategy document “Path to strong, sustainable and balanced growth” sets out the Coalition Government’s commitment to returning the economy to a path of long-term growth which is sustainable and more balanced across regions and industries.
To help achieve this, the Government is launching a series of sector reviews, the first of which is the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Strategy Review. This sets out the Government’s ambitions for UK manufacturing and issues a call for evidence on the barriers currently inhibiting the growth and export performance of manufacturing industries.
This analytical paper, published alongside the Growth Review Framework for Advanced Manufacturing, provides evidence and analysis on the UK manufacturing sector. It sets out some of the characteristics of UK manufacturing and the way in which the sector has evolved in response to increased globalisation and international competition from emerging economies. In particular, it shows how modern manufacturing has extended beyond production to include activities such as research and development and design with many manufacturers offering associated services as a means of differentiating themselves from their low-cost competitors.
The paper uses case study examples to illustrate how different manufacturing industries may be expected to benefit from long-term changes in demand driven by rising incomes, technological progress, higher environmental standards, greener products and demographic and lifestyle change.
