Call for 'urgent' action as Brexit fallout dents Scotland's engineering sector

Scotland’s engineering sector is being battered by Brexit fallout and “urgent” action is required to avoid further damage, industry leaders warned today.
The aerospace sector is one of those badly disrupted by the economic fallout from the pandemic.The aerospace sector is one of those badly disrupted by the economic fallout from the pandemic.
The aerospace sector is one of those badly disrupted by the economic fallout from the pandemic.

Releasing its first quarterly review of 2021, Scottish Engineering said there had been “understandable contraction” in the sector as the impact of coronavirus variants, further lockdown restrictions and the end of the Brexit transition period presented fresh challenges for the nation’s manufacturers.

Despite those headwinds, forecasts for the next three months indicate some improvement, with key indicators of overall orders and output forecasting “measurable recovery”.

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Support provided by the UK government through the extension of the furlough scheme has enabled many companies to retain key skills and offset losses, the industry organisation noted.

However, that has not alleviated the pressure that many businesses are feeling at the hands of Brexit, it added, with only one in four companies reporting that there has been “no impact” from post-Brexit processes, while more than half (56 per cent) of respondents pointed to additional customs and logistics administration costs.

Scottish Engineering’s chief executive Paul Sheerin said: “Manufacturers are once again having to show their resilience, as 2021 has started with further Covid-19 impact on confidence, coupled with the harsh reality of the end of the Brexit transition period.

“Of these two challenges, Covid at least presents a path out of where we are as vaccination programmes worldwide gain traction.

“Brexit impacts on the other hand need urgent attention and support from the UK government to ensure that the detriment our customers in Europe are currently experiencing can be removed, and their essential business retained.”

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