SURVEY FINDS BREXIT WOES AT SMALL U.K. MANUFACTURERS

New post-Brexit trade restrictions have pushed up the cost of parts and raw materials for twothirds of small British manufacturers surveyed last month. The survey of nearly 300 firms by consultants South West Manufacturing Advisory Service (SWMAS) and the Manufacturing Growth Programme, a government and European Union-funded initiative providing support to small firms, adds to the picture of disruption from customs checks that came into force Jan. 1 for goods trade with the EU. “Price hikes in the supply chain have been immediate, and we are hearing tales of lead times being extended on raw materials,” said Nick Golding, managing director of SWMAS. Some 65 per cent of manufacturers reported higher costs, and 54 per cent said they had greater difficulties exporting to the EU.