Manufacturing News – Early May 2025
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The UK manufacturing sector’s downturn continued in April, with output, new orders and employment all decreasing last month. Meanwhile, input cost inflation hit a 28-month high, further exacerbating the newly effective minimum wage and National Insurance hikes.
Despite the seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rising slightly to 45.4 in April, up from 44.9 in March, the sector remains below the neutral 50.0 mark for the seventh straight month.
The latest Contract Manufacturing Index (CMI) shows that the subcontract market bounced back in the first quarter of 2025 – up almost 50% on the final quarter of 2024. January was particularly strong – 200% higher than what had been a very quiet December.
Over the course of the first three months on the year the market dropped back – possibly because of caution ahead of the National Insurance and minimum wage increased that were due to come into force in April with the start of the new tax year.
