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UK services export volumes have risen nine times faster than goods since 2010, according to official data, further underlining the economy’s shift away from manufacturing, which some economists said was accelerated by Brexit. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Monday showed a 63 per cent real terms growth in the export of services in the 14 years to the end of 2023, compared with just a 7 per cent rise for goods. “Trends in UK trade have been a long-run shift from goods exports to services exports, as competition from both the EU and other manufacturing centres has pushed UK comparative advantage towards services,” said John Springford, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank. “Brexit has accelerated that shift.”
The latest data shows that although services exports have recovered strongly since the pandemic, goods export volumes have not and were in fact still below 2013 levels. Line chart of Real terms, rebased showing UK services export growth has been driven by services since 2010 The ONS figures “confirm the long-term trends of the UK’s structural strength in service exports, and structural weakness in goods trade, with the latter exacerbated by Brexit”, said Jonathan Portes, professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London. “While the UK’s reliance on EU trade has diminished somewhat, the EU remains by far our largest and most important trading partner, and that won’t change for the foreseeable future,” he added...
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