A rise in outsourcing saw the level of activity surge during July and August across all three indexes, followed by a slight decline in September. However, the UK manufacturing industry is itself adapting to a 'new normal', with some of the manufacturing workforce working from home and projects therefore taking longer to complete. Read more..

It comes as no surprise that the second quarter's Contract Manufacturing Index showed a significant reduction in activity. As the UK weathered a national lockdown during April and May due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many industries came to a complete standstill, whilst others substantially reduced their manufacturing output. Read more..

Quarter 1's Contract Manufacturing Index bears positive results for the UK's manufacturing industry, as it displays growth for the first time in 12 months. Although it is lower than the first quarter of 2019, it is also 69% larger than the previous quarter, putting it 8% up on 2019's overall average. This hints that the UK industry is starting to stabilise following the political upheaval of the last four years. Read more.

2019 started strongly for the Contract Manufacturing Index which recorded its second-highest result in eighteen months during Quarter 1. By the end of March, the Fabrication Index had grown by a staggering 66% on the preceding quarter, while the Machining Index had also begun to recover from its pronounced decline in December 2018. Read more..

Overall, the Index for 2019’s second quarter has not enjoyed the same positivity as its predecessor. The Index is now at its lowest since its inception in Quarter 1 of 2015, sitting at just 101 in contrast to a strong first quarter.

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Reporting the second-highest results in over eighteen months, Quarter 1’s Contract Manufacturing Index is overwhelmingly positive. Whilst the main driver behind this growth is the Fabrication Index – which rose by a staggering 66% and is now at its highest value since the Index began in 2015 – the Machining Index is showing month-to-month recuperation following a sizeable drop in December. Read more.

Unfortunately for Quarter 4’s index, the growth of October and November was sabotaged by an extremely slow December, meaning that two out of the three sub-indexes reported an overall decline in outsourced manufacturing. The most pronounced case of this lies within the fabrication index, which experienced its worst month of the year in December

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Whilst the second quarter reported substantial growth, 2018’s quarter 3 results portray a much more turbulent climate within the manufacturing industry. These findings are consistent with those of the Markit CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index, which also shows erratic fluctuations in manufacturing output from July through to September.

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CMI Quarter 2 2018

The figures for 2018’s second quarter are very encouraging, especially given the comparative 30% growth to its 2017 equivalent.

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CMI Quarter 1 2018

After experiencing a slight lull within the final quarter of 2017, the latest results show that the index is now following an upwards trajectory across the board. Whilst all three indexes have seen growth over the past three months, the main drivers are both the fabrication and the ‘others’ index (accounting for processes such as casting, toolmaking, finishing, plastics & rubber), with the machining index reporting less pronounced growth than its counterparts. Read more..

The fourth quarter saw a slowing of both the machining and the fabrication markets - both of which had reported consistent growth over the preceding nine months. The index first showed signs of slowing within September, which set the general trend for the final quarter of 2017. Read more..