India to maintain top position: Deloitte

LONDON: India, China and South Korea will maintain their leading position in global manufacturing competitiveness while the economies of Western Europe, Japan and US, are expected to become less competitive over the next five years, according to a top consultancy firm.

Presenting its latest analysis of global manufacturing competitiveness index, Deloitte said Asian giants China, India and South Korea led the current competitiveness index and were expected to retain their top three rankings over the next five years.

In contrast, the dominant manufacturing superpowers of the late 20th century are expected to become less competitive.

Other Western European nations will be similarly challenged, especially Czech Republic, Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy and Belgium.

Wayne Harvey, senior partner of Deloitte, said: "China and India have been emerging as global leaders in manufacturing for a number of years now, and this survey highlights the increasing dominance that these two major economies will continue to have over the remainder of this decade".

"It is disappointing to see that the UK is ranked outside the top 10, positioned at 17 in an index of 26. Further, it is predicted that the UK will drop three places over the next five years," he added.

Harvey said it was important that the new UK Government worked jointly with manufacturers to ensure they improve their global competitiveness.

The UK manufacturing sector is predominantly focused on emerging new technologies and hi-tech industry.

"We must continue to invest in and develop these areas. Given the significant proportion of UK GDP earned through our manufacturing base, and the number of people employed in this sector, any further slippage in our global competitiveness will have a real impact on the broader UK economy," he said.