Britain has dropped out of the top ten rankings for manufacturing for the first time ever, new research from an industry body revealed.
In the most recent standings, which analyses 2022 performances, Britain slipped to 12th place, down from eighth in the year prior, Make UK revealed.
Mexico and Russia overtook Britain to take the seventh and eighth positions, respectively, when looking at the countries’ manufacturing industries within the economy.
Gains in Mexico were helped by investment from China, while Russia benefited from increases in its defence production to 6% of its GDP.
China ranked first in Make UK’s report, while the US followed in second.
Britain’s manufacturing industry helps contribute some £217 billion to the country’s total output and provides around 2.6 million jobs, however, Make UK believes “a long-term industrial strategy” is needed.
Verity Davidge, director of policy at Make UK, said: “There is no getting away from the fact that it’s deeply disappointing to see the UK drop out of the world’s top ten manufacturing nations for the first time.
“However, this isn’t a reflection of any decline in UK industry but of specific factors and trends that are redrawing the contours of the global economy.”