The UK contract manufacturing market remained fundamentally solid in the first quarter of 2026, showing healthy growth compared with the previous quarter, according to the latest Contract Manufacturing Index (CMI) figures, although it is beginning to feel the effects of global events.
The CMI stood at 75 for the quarter, up 8% on the final quarter of 2025. It showed solid month-on-month growth from January onwards, but by the end of March supplier quoting activity had fallen by 30% and lead times had lengthened by 30% as the crisis in the Middle East began to affect prices and supply chains.
The CMI is produced by sourcing specialist Qimtek and reflects the total purchasing budget for outsourced manufacturing among companies looking to place business in any given month. This represents a sample of more than 4,000 companies that could be placing business, with a combined purchasing budget of more than £3.4bn, and a supplier base of more than 7,000 companies with a verified turnover in excess of £25bn.
The baseline for the index is 100, representing the average size of the subcontract manufacturing market between 2014 and 2018.
Compared with 12 months ago, when the CMI stood at 64, it has increased by 17%, although it remains slightly below where it was two years ago.
On a process-by-process basis, machining represented 45% of the market, unchanged from the previous quarter. Fabrication rose from 42% to 47% of the market, at the expense of other processes such as moulding and electronic assembly.
Looking at the market by sector, the top two positions were unchanged from the previous quarter: Industrial Machinery, followed by Construction. Within that, however, the volume of Construction work was up 50% on the previous quarter. The next three sectors were Heavy Vehicles/Construction Equipment, Agriculture, and Pump and Valve. Pump and Valve rose significantly, having ranked 20th in the previous quarter.
Commenting on the figures, Qimtek owner Karl Wigart said: “It was good to see a pretty solid start to the year, with strong activity from both buyers and suppliers. Then geopolitics had a real impact on the final month of the quarter, with supplier quoting activity dropping by 30% and lead times increasing by 30%. With fewer quotes going out, it is not a good omen for activity levels in the coming months, and longer delivery times are an indicator of supply chain disruption.”