Manufacturing accounts for 8% of UK GDP directly. Counting its supply chains and the spending of the people it employs, that figure rises to 23%, according to a 2024 Oxford Economics study for the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA). Yet the sector pays some of the highest energy costs in Europe and relies heavily on imported materials. It also struggles to recruit, held back by an image that no longer matches the modern factory floor.
At the same time, many workshops are sitting partly idle. Xometry’s 2027 Manufacturing Outlook report found that 37% of smaller manufacturers are carrying spare capacity, against 11% of larger ones. Meanwhile buyers still contend with slow quotation processes and fragile single-source supply chains. Engineering teams are shrinking, and the time lost to sourcing carries a cost that unit price alone does not show.
In this episode, MTA president Stewart Lane describes the pressures on British manufacturing, including the wait for clarity on defence spending. Oscar Lovera of Xometry explains how on-demand manufacturing is filling idle capacity and helping engineers iterate faster, with quality checks that combine AI and people on the ground.
Guests
Stewart Lane, President, Manufacturing Technologies Association; Head of Business Development, EMEA, Renishaw
Oscar Lovera, Chief Operating Officer, Xometry
Resources
To find out more about the Manufacturing Technologies Association, click here
To read the 2024 report: The True Impact of British Manufacturing, click here
To read the MACH 2026 survey on Sovereign Capacity and Industrial Strategy, click here
To read Xometry’s Manufacturing Outlook report for EMEA in 2027, click here
To see the Top Gear video showcasing British engineering, click here
Partner
Xometry is an AI-native marketplace and a suite of cloud-based services that are rapidly digitising the manufacturing industry. Xometry provides manufacturers with the critical resources they need to grow their businesses and streamlines the procurement process for buyers through real-time pricing and lead time data.
