Insights
Manufacturing NI is a campaigning organisation which works with member companies, workforce representatives, policymakers and regulators to challenge and encourage change in areas which impact on the cost of doing business, specifically rates, energy, labour, trade and innovation.
Founded in the early 2000’s, we actively support all types of manufacturing businesses in Northern Ireland, from micro and family-run firms to innovative SMEs and global exporters. As a manufacturer-led organisation, we focus on what matters most: helping you navigate challenges, reduce costs and unlock opportunities.
Our work has helped secure and protect a 70% reduction in industrial rates, saving the sector over £71.5 million annually – a vital relief that remains under constant review. We’ve shaped the policy conversation by publishing a landmark report on manufacturing’s role in the NI economy, and taken your concerns directly to Stormont, Westminster and beyond — challenging government on energy costs, labour and skills shortages, regulatory burdens and more.
Manufacturing remains a powerhouse of Northern Ireland’s economy, driving innovation, developing talent, and leading on the Net Zero agenda. It is embedded in both rural communities and urban centres, shaping lives, sustaining towns, and anchoring resilient supply chains.
As of March 2025, the Department for the Economy confirmed that manufacturing was the only subsector to post both quarterly and annual growth, with a 1.4% rise in Q4 2024 and a 2.4% increase year-on-year. The sector now accounts for 13.4% of total economic output, over £6 billion in annual GVA, and ranks second only to retail and wholesale.
Food, engineering, transport, technology, building products, fabrics, polymers, packaging and even the new renewable industries all benefit from the famous Ulster ingenuity and hard work. And you’re just as likely to see world-beaters in rural communities as you are in technology parks.
We excel in machinery for materials handling and in construction materials – the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, for example, was manufactured here in Northern Ireland with almost 10,000 bespoke precast concrete elements. We also maintain a significant footprint in aerospace, with strong supply chains into the UK and European economies.
We see that bright future and have identified actions to make it happen.
Manufacturing and the Northern Ireland economy May 2025
Minister for the Economy, Dr Caoimhe Archibald MLA, marked Manufacturing NI’s (MNI) Manufacturing Month by launching the Manufacturing and the Northern Ireland Economy report during a visit to MJM Marine in Newry. At the ‘Meet the Makers’ event, the Minister was joined by other manufacturing businesses from across Northern Ireland to meet global cruise ship interior fit-out business MJM Marine and tour its production facilities.
The report found that the manufacturing sector was a major contributor to the Northern Ireland economy, accounting for 13.4% of total economic output. With output worth over £6 billion, the sector ranked as the second largest in terms of economic contribution after retail and wholesale. It also found that the sector accounted for 17% of private sector jobs and 21% of turnover, while representing just 6% of the total private business sector population.
The Engine of Prosperity
First published in 2016- this report, from Oxford Economics, outlines the full impact on jobs, wages, GVA, exports and other areas on both a macro NI level and in each of our 11 new Councils. We hope the NI Executive and its Departments and agencies as well as local Councils find this analysis useful when settling on their actions and interventions which will grow the economy and build strong communities. The NI Executive has a number of significant challenges – creating wealth and work across NI; sustainable, well paid highly skilled and entry level jobs; closing the productivity gap with GB and the EU; building strong, healthy communities; increasing exports; developing an innovative, modern economy and rebalancing an economy.
It is clear from this Oxford Economics report that no other part of our economy delivers these outcomes more than the manufacturing sector…
- 214k direct and supported jobs – 1 in 4 of all jobs in the economy.
- A £9.9bn GVA, around 1/3rd of the economy.
- Productivity at £55,700 is 38% higher than NI average with advanced
manufacturing contribution 27% more.
- Exports at £6bn, almost two-thirds of all export sales.
- £254 million in R&D in 2014, accounting for over 60 percent of total business
investment.
- Attracting £900 million in FDI Between 2010 and 2014.
The State of Manufacturing
The latest Manufacturing NI and Tughans “The State of Northern Ireland Manufacturing 2019” manufacturing survey reveals a sector demonstrating continued resilience and growth in a context of political uncertainty, skills shortages and rising costs.
The survey, which was conducted in May/June 2019 for Manufacturing NI and legal firm Tughans, showed that 76% of respondents (up from 67% in December 2018) consider the uncertainty of Brexit to be the biggest issue currently affecting business with local political uncertainty coming a close second.
Against this background, 67% of those surveyed described their business as being in a position of growth whilst 47% said they expected that growth to continue in the next 12 months. Significantly, 87% described their companies as having realised profits in the last year.
2110 – Manufacturing NI Tughans a2 cross folded to a4 leaflet web version
Latest News
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