Best Manufacturing News Sources in the UK

The UK manufacturing sector is one of the most dynamic and consequential parts of the economy, yet finding consistently reliable news coverage requires effort. Mainstream media tends to cover industry only when there is a crisis: a factory closure, a supply chain collapse, a strike. Yet the day-to-day advances, policy developments, and market shifts that actually matter to professionals working in the sector are covered elsewhere.

Whether you are an operations director tracking regulatory changes, a procurement manager monitoring supply chain trends, or an engineer keeping up with technical innovation, here are the sources worth your time.

Trade publications

The Manufacturer

Published by Hennik Group, The Manufacturer is one of the UK’s most established manufacturing trade publications. It covers a broad range of topics including digitalisation, sustainability, skills, and supply chain management. Their annual Manufacturing Report provides valuable benchmarking data, and their events programme, particularly the Manufacturer MX Awards , highlights best practice across the sector. Particularly strong on leadership and strategy content aimed at senior decision-makers.

Make UK

Make UK operates as both a manufacturers’ organisation and a news source. Their policy and research output is essential reading for anyone affected by UK industrial policy, trade agreements, and employment regulation. The quarterly Manufacturing Monitor survey provides one of the best real-time indicators of sector confidence. As a membership body, some content is restricted, but their public reports and press releases are consistently informative.

The Engineer

One of the oldest engineering publications in the world (founded in 1856), The Engineer covers manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, and energy with a strong technical focus. Their long-form features on emerging technologies, from additive manufacturing to hydrogen propulsion, are particularly well-researched. A reliable source for understanding the engineering detail behind headline announcements.

Manufacturing Management

Formerly known as Works Management, this publication focuses on the operational side of manufacturing: lean processes, factory automation, maintenance strategies, and workforce management. Practical content aimed at plant managers and operations leads who need actionable intelligence rather than high-level commentary.

Industry bodies and research organisations

Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC)

Based in Coventry, the MTC publishes research and case studies on advanced manufacturing technologies including robotics, additive manufacturing, and digital engineering. Their output is technical and evidence-based, and particularly valuable for engineers and technology managers evaluating new capabilities.

Catapult Network

The High Value Manufacturing Catapult and its associated centres (including the MTC, AMRC in Sheffield, and WMG at Warwick) produce research, training content, and technology assessments that bridge the gap between academic research and industrial application. Their publications are freely available and consistently high quality.

Government and policy sources

For regulatory and policy developments, the Department for Business and Trade publishes consultation documents, strategy papers, and statistical bulletins relevant to manufacturing. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) provides the underlying economic data (output indices, trade figures, and employment statistics) that contextualises industry trends. Neither is designed for quick reading, but both are essential primary sources for anyone involved in strategic planning.

What is missing

The sources listed above are individually excellent, but collectively they highlight a gap. Each operates independently: separate websites, separate newsletters, separate comment sections. There is no single platform where a manufacturing professional can access curated news from across these sources, discuss developments with verified peers, and discover relevant suppliers, all in one place.

This fragmentation is exactly the problem LeanIQ is being built to address. Rather than replacing existing publications, LeanIQ aims to complement them by providing a unified hub where industrial professionals can access aggregated intelligence, participate in sector-specific discussions, and connect with the suppliers and peers they need, without maintaining a dozen separate subscriptions and browser tabs.

Until that platform launches, the sources above represent the best available toolkit for staying informed about UK manufacturing. Bookmark them, subscribe to their newsletters, and when LeanIQ goes live, find them all in one place.

---

LeanIQ is building a unified industrial intelligence hub. Register your interest to get early access when we launch.