Manufacturers In Yorkshire And The Humber Storm Ahead In Post-pandemic Recovery

Small-scale manufacturers in Yorkshire and the Humber have seen the biggest rebound in sales revenue nationally, and are helping to lead the post-pandemic recovery, new analysis reveals.

Firms across the region generated over 70%more in sales in the first three quarters of 2021 compared to last year – despite lockdown restrictions, supply chain disruption, lower business confidence and fears about tax hikes.

They outpaced the UK’s next best-performing regions, the North East and North West, which saw a 64% and 50% uplift respectively, according to a new report.

It was also well above the national average of 24%.

In contrast, manufacturers in Scotland reported a 24% drop in sales revenue, while the South East saw a relatively low 15% increase.

Unleashed Software, whose supply chain management platform supports more than 4,000 businesses globally, compiled the figures from a sample of 385 UK manufacturers.

Analysts at the tech company, which is now part of The Access Group, collected 79,000 data points generated from firms’ day-to-day operations, including sales orders, EU exports and e-commerce activity.

Stephen Jones, regional manager at Unleashed Software, said: “SMEs are the backbone of both the manufacturing industry and UK economy, and businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber are making a significant contribution to the post-Covid recovery.

“Together with their counterparts in the North East and West, they’ve reaffirmed the potential of the Northern Powerhouse and demonstrated that the region is very much open for business.

“The firms we work with are committed to innovation and judging by their performance, have managed to successfully navigate many of the challenges of the past year.

“Now the test is whether they can finish Q4 on an equally strong footing despite the ongoing uncertainty nationally.”