Manufacturing News – Late May 2026

Yorkshire’s manufacturing sector is in the middle of a structural reset rather than a cyclical shift. Across textiles, engineering and advanced robotics, businesses are continuing to invest heavily in automation, data systems and materials innovation at scale. However, that transformation is taking place within an operating environment increasingly shaped by rising energy costs, persistent skills shortages and ongoing policy uncertainty – all of which are influencing not just the pace of investment, but the confidence behind it.

From Huddersfield to Harrogate and Leeds, factories that once defined traditional production are now operating as hybrid industrial environments, where AI-enabled systems and real-time data monitoring sit alongside decades of manufacturing heritage and sector-specific expertise. This is not a gradual evolution, but a visible structural shift in how manufacturing capability is designed, delivered and scaled.

Those tensions between industrial capability and system alignment were a central theme of a recent TheBusinessDesk.com manufacturing roundtable hosted by Walker Morris in Leeds.

Sourced from TheBusinessDesk

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The ‘deindustrialisation’ of the UK and loss of chemical industries threatens 95% of all manufactured goods.

Across the chemical industry and UK manufacturing, there are people who have dedicated their entire working lives to making, moving and supplying the materials that keep the country running. As the leader of a chemical SME working as both a distributor and contract toll manufacturer, Philippa Glover, Managing Director Rakem Group, knows that this work is about far more than products and processes. It supports skilled jobs, families and local communities and that’s why businesses like Rakem care so deeply about the future of British industry.

So, when the chairman of INEOS, one of the world’s largest chemical producers, blasted the UK government over high energy prices and carbon taxes after the shutdown of Grangemouth’s ethanol plant, it certainly struck such a chord.

Sourced from The Manufacturer

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A new coalition of manufacturing leaders has been assembled to help North West SMEs tackle the challenges and opportunities created by AI, automation and rising global competition.

Made Smarter North West has strengthened the industry steering group behind its £2.5m government-backed technology adoption programme, bringing together new voices from aerospace, engineering, manufacturing and business to help guide the next phase of digital transformation support for smaller firms.

The new appointments include aerospace technology leader Iain Minton of BAE Systems as Chair, Dawn Huntrod of Make UK, and Shiby Bernard of Cumbria-based McMenon Engineering Services.

Sourced from The Manufacturer

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Latest Make UK report suggests that regional Mayors should be given greater powers on key projects.

Key findings

• Nearly half of manufacturers say the planning system is holding back the UK’s economic potential.
• Almost half of manufacturers believe the planning system is slowing their ability to grow or invest in their business
• Nearly half report that the biggest barrier is the complexity of planning regulations
• More than two thirds of companies support stronger planning powers for regional mayors
• Two thirds of manufacturers say coordinated regional planning would make it easier to expand
• Over half of manufacturers say environmental policies that protect species such as newts and bats have affected planning proposals

Britain’s manufacturers are calling on the Government to turbocharge planning reforms in order to help boost economic growth, or risk failing to deliver on key ambitions such as industrial strategy, regional development and decarbonisation.

The call was made on the back of a new report and survey out today from Make UK which shows manufacturers’ widespread dissatisfaction with the current system which it describes as ‘not fit for purpose’, is overly complex and leading to delays and increased costs. The report shows that these factors are actively deterring business investment and acting as a drag on the UK’s economic potential.

Sourced from The Manufacturer

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The second quarter of 2026 saw improvements in demand and output for Scotland’s engineering and manufacturing sector, but confidence has weakened amid concerns over rising costs – particularly from energy and steel trade policy changes.

The latest survey from trade body Scottish Engineering showed order intake rising to a net 17%, and output volume to 20%, continuing the recovery seen earlier this year. Export orders also returned to positive territory at 9%, while staffing improved to 9% and overtime increased to 16%.

Forecasts for the next quarter also remain encouraging, with businesses expecting order intake to rise by 23% on average and output volume by 27%. Training investment stayed positive at 21%, underlining continued efforts to address long-term skills shortages.

Sourced from The Business Desk

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Cummins has upgraded its full-year guidance after stronger-than-expected demand for power generation equipment helped drive first-quarter sales higher.

The engineering giant, which has its UK head office and distribution hub in Wellingborough and logistics centre in Daventry, reported revenues of £6.2bn for the first three months of 2026, up 3% on the same period last year.

Net income fell to £482m from £607m, largely due to a £147m charge linked to the sale of its low-pressure fuel cell business.

Sourced from TheBusinessDesk