A survey taken from more than 400 British manufacturing SMEs shows that a promising 64% of companies are expecting to grow their businesses over the next six months. With 52% also planning on investing in manufacturing and capital equipment, the latest Manufacturing Barometer highlights businesses bouncing back despite ongoing recruitment and supply chain issues.
In addition to this optimisitic outlook throughout the sector, more manufacturing businesses say they are trading at increased levels for the first time in over a year. With many confirming that levels are higher than pre-pandemic.
However despite growth amongst the manufacturing SMEs, more than 60% say their staff are spending more time liasing with suppliers and raising prices of products to cover costs. More worringly, over 60% also say they have lost skilled staff over the course of the pandemic and are now struggling to replace them. This highlights the widening skills gap in the sector which could impact recovery in the future.
Find out more from the latest Manufacturing Barometer here.