2026年国际贸易趋势：全球市场中的英国制造商

UK MANUFACTURERS IN GLOBAL MARKETS CONTENTS Introduction3Export intensity: How export-heavy are UK manufacturers?4Where are UK manufacturers exporting to, and how are these export markets performing?6Destinations6Manufacturers’ market outlook8Sentiment for the year ahead8 The Impacts of Trade Policy and the External Environment10Post-Brexit trade experience with the EU11Policy and the pressures of competition over the past five years12Britain’s trade reputation and its service to manufacturers13Barriers, risk and global competition14 ConclusionAbout Introduction The global trading environment for UK manufacturers feelsuniquely unpredictable. Over the past decade businesses haveendured overlapping waves of disruption, from the UK’s exit fromthe EU and more recent geopolitical tensions to pandemic-relatedsupply shocks and the ensuing energy market crisis. Global value chains have changed structurally as a result, and now adaptation is no longer adiscrete process, but rather a continuous activity UK manufacturers undertake to trade theirway forwards in uncertain times. Make UK has partnered with DHL to undertake this research in international trade from theperspective of UK manufacturers, including fieldwork from a representative sample for thesector of 119 exporting UK manufacturers. The objective of this research is to reveal just howUK manufacturers are navigating the rapidly evolving global trading environment by drawingdirectly on the experiences of the firms that participate in these markets. The research sets out to explore three key themes, the scale and composition of export activityacross the sector, the performance and subsequent outlook for UK goods destination marketsand the practical and policy challenges which are steering businesses’ international ambitions. Together, the answers to the questions contained within these themes will offer an evidence-based understanding of how, and if, trade is acting as a driver of growth and resilience, andwhere competitiveness may be being eroded by trade barriers. The commission of this research comes at a pivotal moment for the UK economy. As ofthe time of its undertaking, UK productivity growth is suppressed, domestic demand isinconsistent and exports continue to provide an indispensable contribution to the UK’seconomic trajectory. Manufactured goods exports account for just under half the value of all UK exports. As boththe Government and the sector seek to build longer-term stability into both the country andtheir firms respectively, the insight into the real world experience of exporting manufacturerswill prove invaluable for industry, policymakers and wider stakeholders alike. UK manufacturing’sexport footprintand outlook Export intensity: How export-heavyare UK manufacturers? As outlined, the quantitative fieldwork supporting thisresearch exclusively included exporting manufacturers,to understand the international trade outlook for those UKbusinesses currently engaged in export. The fieldwork showsthat, through a weighted average approach on survey dataasking what percentage of annual sales export are, 33% ofannual sales are related to export. In other words, showingthat, for exporting manufacturers in the UK, approximately athird of revenue is generated from exports. Chart 1: Export prevalence % of respondents indicating what proportion of their annual salesare related to goods exports Understanding the proportion of revenue exposure toexport markets for the sector at the outset of this researchsets the scene for further discussion, related to policy andmarket access, amongst other things, about the internationalinterconnectedness of the UK’s manufacturing sector andthe implications for global value chains. This data also shows that a sizeable minority see theirbusiness thrive through export, just under six in tenmanufacturing exporters (56%) derive at least a quarter oftheir sales from exports, by assessing those in the data wholie above the 26%+ bands. Further, an even more intensive grouping lies in the 50%+band, with just over one in five (22%) reporting that themajority of their turnover is export related. This is animportant finding on export exposure for the sector, that22% of manufacturing exporters have the majority of theirbusinesses dependent on overseas demand. arising from export1/5of internationallytrading manufacturershave the majorityof their sales This finding demonstrates that there is a meaningful cohortof firms that are structurally dependent on the export marketand that, for this group of firms, the export market is nottreated as a source of ‘overflow’ demand. Export intensity correlateswith company size The findings reveal a strong correlation between firmsize and export exposure. For smaller firms, those witha £10m or less turnover, only 43% report falling into thecategories above 26% export sales. This rises to just overhalf (52%) for those £10m-£50m firms, and almost four infive (79%) for those firms wi